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SILKY BUFF AND DOTTY JACK 

















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MISS PHEBE, MRS. STELLA, AND BOBBY VISIT PHEBEVILLE 



SILKY BUFF AND 
DOTTY JACK 

Or 

PRINCE JOHNNIE’S CHICKENS 


BY 

FLAVIA CAMP CANFIELD 

AUTHOR OF "THE KIDNAPPED CAMPERS," " THE KIDNAPPED CAMPERS 
ON THE ROAD," “ THE REFUGEE FAMILY," " THE BIG TENT,” 
"THE HOP PICKERS,” “A TRIP WITH A TRAILER” 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

THE AUTHOR 



NEW YORK 

HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY 








COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY 
HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC. 



PRINTED IN THE U. «?. A. BY 
THE QUINN a BODEN COMPANY 
RAHWAY. N. J. 


FFB19 *21 

©C1A778059 


TO 

MY RELATIVES 
AND FRIENDS 








CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Phebeville.3 

II. The Runway.13 

III. The Meadow.21 

IV. An Enemy.26 

V. A Day at Home.32 

VI. The Picnic . 40 

VII. The Light Brahmas.51 

VIII. “East or West, Home’s Best” .... 60 

IX. Dotty Jack’s News.74 

X. At the Fair.82 

XI. The Blue Ribbons.89 

XII. The Voyage.101 

XIII. A Visitor.no 

XIV. The Twins.118 

XV. Getting Ready for the Desert Island . .126 

XVI. Shipwreck.132 

XVII. Drifting.142 

XVIII. Dotty as a Mascot.155 

XIX. Mr. Maloney.163 

XX. The New Home.174 

XXI. Prince Johnnie and the Twins . . . .183 

XXII. The Bazar.191 










ILLUSTRATIONS 


Miss Phebe, Mrs. Stella, and Bobby visit Phebeville 

Frontispiece 

FACING 

PAGE 

“Pm a sea gull,” said the bird.no 

There rose right before them the high steep cliffs of the 


Irish Coast.158 

The English fowls were especially proud of a little Jap¬ 
anese rooster.181 






















































SILKY BUFF AND DOTTY JACK 












CHAPTER I 


PHEBEVILLE 

“T ^\0 keep those chicks quiet, Mrs. Buff 
JLy Rock. It’s very thoughtless of you to 
bring them so near when you know how very 
nervous I am,” said Mrs. Gray Plym crossly. 

“Why, yes, poor dear, it is very careless of me,” 
said her neighbor soothingly. “I will give them 
this fat worm, and they will be still while they 
are eating it. Here, chickens, come and get the 
nice breakfast mother has for you. Now try to 
be good and don’t quarrel.” 

The six little downy balls ran off at once to the 
spot where their breakfast lay and began to peck 
hungrily at their feast with little chirping noises, 
while their mother went back to her nervous 
friend to finish her call. 

“You’re almost through, aren’t you?” she asked. 

3 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“My time’s up in two days, and I hope I’ll have 
strength to live through them. It’s the hardest 
siege I ever had.” 

“Yes, I know how it is; the last few days are 
always the longest. Your eggs are unusually 
large, aren’t they?” 

“Yes, and there are twelve of ’em. I’ve had to 
be extra careful to keep ’em all warm, for it’s a 
very expensive setting. The mistress is anxious 
to have ’em all hatch.” 

“What breed did you say they were?” 

“Light Brahmas,” returned Mrs. Gray Plym 
with a toss of her head. 

“Dear me!” said Mrs. Buff Rock, much im¬ 
pressed. “That is a responsibility. I don’t won¬ 
der that you are nervous.” 

“Yes,” said the tired brooding creature. “I’m 
all worn out with the care and anxiety. But it’s 
most over now. If I can stand the next two days 
and hatch ’em all, I shall feel paid.” 

“Indeed you will,” replied her good-natured 
friend. “And Miss Phebe will be so pleased!” 

4 


Phebeville 


“Yes, it’s the thought of that smile that has 
kept me up,” said Mrs. Gray Plym more cheer¬ 
fully. 

Here the six little chicks came running back to 
their mother, cheeping loudly. They had finished 
the fat worm, but seemed as hungry as ever as 
they swarmed round the big old hen, some of 
them sticking their bills into her soft breast. 

“Oh, for mercy’s sake, stop that awful noise!” 
said Mrs. Gray Plym excitedly. “Those chicks 
have the harshest voices I ever heard. Their 
shrieking goes right through my head. It would 
set my teeth on edge if I had any.” 

“Run away and play, children,” said the 
mother. “You can’t be hungry. You’ve been 
eating all the morning. See if you can’t find a 
tumble-bug behind that old pan over there.” The 
chicks obeyed, going a few feet away from the 
mother, and the latter went on sympathizingly: 
“It’s no wonder you’re tired and nervous. You 
haven’t been off your nest for a great many hours. 
You’d better go out for a little fresh air. The 
5 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
sunshine is so bright it would do you a world of 
good.” 

“I suppose you’re right, but I must turn over 
my eggs first,” said Mrs. Gray Plym, moving one 
leg cautiously and slowly out from under her 
feathers, and then, by a great effort, rolling her 
clumsy body off the nest full of big white eggs. 

“Dear me! you have no idea how I ache all 
over, or how terribly stiff and lame my legs are. 
It seems as though I could never stand on my feet 
again,” she said peevishly. 

“Let me turn your eggs over while you limber 
up a little,” said Mrs. Buff Rock kindly, going 
toward the nest as she spoke. 

“Not for the world! Don’t touch ’em!” 
shrieked Mrs. Gray Plym, rushing in front of 
her friend. “I wouldn’t dare have anybody do it 
but me. Miss Phebe wouldn’t like it. She said 
I was the only one in this yard she would trust 
with this setting.” 

“Well, you know I’ve hatched a good many 
eggs in my day,” said Mrs. Buff Rock rather 
6 


Phebeville 

dryly, as she watched the other deftly and care¬ 
fully turning over each egg. 

“Yes, but you never had any light Brahmas to 
handle, did you?’’ 

“Mother,” piped up little Silky Buff, coming 
back to her mother’s side, “can’t we go down to 
the dust-hole where Squawk and Gawk are wal¬ 
lowing?” 

“Yes, run along,” said her mother. “But don’t 
get in the way of those great clumsy pullets. 
They might step on you.” 

Mrs. Gray Plym came to the door of the hen¬ 
house now and looked down the path where the 
little chick with her five brothers and sisters was 
running, and seeing two young hens rolling lazily 
in a warm heap of dust her feathers began to 
ruffle, and she said angrily: “Those lazy good- 
for-nothing twins make me cross. They are al¬ 
ways lolling about, doing nothing but gossip and 
squawk all day.” 

“Oh, they’re young, you know,” said her neigh¬ 
bor comfortably. “You can’t expect them to be 
7 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
very wise now. They’ll soon grow up and be 
laying and will make fine, useful hens.” 

“Not that breed. I know ’em, root and branch. 
Poor layers, poor mothers, and not very good 
flavor for the pot. Here, get out of that!” she 
screamed, her anger rising, as she started for the 
dust-hole. 

She was so crippled that she could not go very 
fast, but the pullets saw her bearing down on 
them and, jumping up, ran away squawking. 

“Cross old flutterbudget! What business has 
she to drive us away!” said Gawk in a rage. 

“We have as much right to the hole as she has,” 
sputtered Squawk. 

“Then why didn’t you stand up for your rights 
and not let her drive you away?” said a lean old 
hen, whose name was Mrs. Top Twist. 

“Did she ever peck your head?” asked Squawk. 
“If she had you would understand why it is best 
to keep a safe distance.” 

“She’s awful cross and hateful,” said a little 

8 


Phebeville 


white Wyandotte, coming up to the group gath¬ 
ered round the pullets. 

“Nobody likes her,” echoed a large gray hen 
with a gruff voice. 

“You mustn’t be too hard on her,” said kind 
Mrs. Buff Rock. “You know she’s usually good- 
natured, but she’s had a very trying time with this 
setting and she’s most worn out.” 

“Well, don’t we all have a weary time with our 
settings?” spoke up a tall Leghorn. “She doesn’t 
suffer any more than the rest of us, and I don’t 
see why she should be excused for giving way to 
her tempers.” 

“Hark!” said Mrs. Buff Rock, cocking her head 
on one side. “I hear Miss Phebe coming.” 

They all listened an instant and heard the faint 
sound of a spoon on a tin pan in the distance. As 
it came nearer and nearer all the fowls in the yard 
set up a glad cry, and ran, and flew, and scuttled 
toward the gate. Mrs. Gray Plym had been roll¬ 
ing in the dust-heap, but she too got on her feet 
9 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
and waddled slowly toward a lady with white 
hair and pink cheeks who came through the gate 
and began to scatter food on the ground. She 
smiled on the chickens clustered round her feet, 
and spoke to them in a friendly way, as though 
she liked them. They certainly were very fond 
of her, and gathered as close to her skirts as pos¬ 
sible, so that she had to walk slowly in order not 
to step on them. 

“Well, old Mother, how are you to-day?” she 
said as Mrs. Gray Plym limped up to her. 
“Pretty stiff, aren’t you? Well, stick to your job 
a little longer and you’ll soon have some lovely 
chicks to pay you for all your trouble. Remember, 
I depend on you to bring ’em all through.” 

“I’ll try my best, Mistress,” muttered the brave 
old creature, as she hobbled off to her nest. 

Miss Phebe had a basket of eggs with her which 
she took to one of the little henhouses in the 
yard, and, going inside, she lifted a yellow hen 
carefully from a nest on a platform and placed 
the eggs under her. “There, old Biddy,” she 


io 


Phebeville 


said. “Now you’ve got something to work for. 
Take good care of ’em and see if you can’t hatch 
out every one.” 

The old hen made a deep sound in her throat 
which meant to Miss Phebe that she could be 
depended upon to do her task well, as she had 
done it before. 

The careful mistress then made the round of 
the premises to make sure that her feathered 
friends were all comfortable and happy, and then 
went away through the gate, which she closed 
with a cheerful click. 

The fowls followed her with their eyes, and 
when her footsteps had died away several of them 
wagged their heads and made a soft little sound 
in their throats which meant: “She’s gone. We 
can’t see her again until morning. Well, we must 
make the best of it.” 

It was now almost bedtime in the little village. 
The sun was far over in the western sky and a 
cool breeze was blowing in the tree-tops. The 
mothers of young families began to call to their 


ii 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
little ones to come to rest under brooding wings 
and breasts. Old and young hens and cockerels 
filed into the various houses and took places on 
the perches, not without some pushing and scold¬ 
ing from the selfish ones. Wing Bright, the 
young red rooster who had been in the yard two 
days, left the corner where he had been sulking 
since the old rooster Velvet Comb had whipped 
him, and climbed on to the nearest perch in a 
dignified way, and very soon there was no sound 
to be heard but little sleepy chirps from the babies 
and an occasional croak from a watchful old hen. 
Katydids and whippoorwills began to sing. An 
owl hooted in the distance, a dog barked, a rat 
squeaked, but Phebeville folks had gone to sleep 
with heads tucked under wings and they heard 
no sound till early morning. 


12 


CHAPTER II 


THE RUNWAY 

T WO days later Mrs. Gray Plym’s long wait 
was over. About ten o’clock she began to 
feel the stir of life beneath her, when she strug¬ 
gled to her feet and with her experienced beak 
began to help the little chicks out of their shells. 
Half a dozen of them were cheeping and trying 
to get on their feet when Miss Phebe came. She 
was very much pleased to find them so strong, and 
when at last nine out of the twelve were hatched 
she was delighted. 

“Well done, good old Biddy!” she said, patting 
the proud mother on her head. “You haven’t 
disappointed me. I knew you could do it. Now 
I’ll get you a nice breakfast while you cuddle 
these chicks until they are dry and warm.” 

There was a good deal of excitement in Phebe- 
ville over this hatching, as it was well understood 
13 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
that light Brahmas are a very aristocratic breed, 
much superior to the other fowls there. Most of 
them were plain buff or gray Plymouth Rocks or 
Leghorns, with a few white Wyandottes, and 
none of them made any pretensions to being better 
than his neighbors. 

The old hens put their heads together and gos¬ 
siped and speculated over the event, most of them 
predicting that no good would come to the com¬ 
munity from introducing so many foreigners. 

“I don’t see what Miss Phebe wants such a 
variety for,” said a plain Buff Rock mother who 
was leading about her little flock. “I’m sure 
we’re all faithful and hardworking, and have done 
our best for her as layers and mothers. I don’t 
believe these new tony people will do half so 
well.” 

“Velvet Comb says we haven’t nearly so many 
kinds as they have over at Stellatown,” said 
Squawk. “When he was visiting there last week 
he counted six varieties he had never seen before. 
There were Black Minorcas, Cochins, Spanish, 
14 


The Runway 

Langshans, and I don’t know what all. He said 
it was like being in a foreign country and he was 
glad to get back to Phebeville again.” 

“Well, I shall be interested to see how the light 
Brahmas turn out,” said Mrs. Buff Rock, who had 
been busily feeding her hungry chicks. “My 
mother used to say that Brahmas were always 
very gentle, nice creatures, although they grow so 
much bigger than we are. Perhaps they will set 
a good example to our chicks.” 

“I guess most of us are capable of teaching our 
children all the manners they need,” remarked 
the tall Leghorn in an offended tone. 

“Biddy Gray Plym will be more conceited than 
ever as soon as she comes off with those chicks,” 
said Squawk, coming up to the group. 

“Have you heard the news?” asked Gawk ex¬ 
citedly. “Velvet Comb says the runway is going 
to be opened to-day.” 

“How does he know?” asked some one. 

“The man who does everything is working on 
the gate that leads into the meadow and Velvet 
15 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
Comb heard Miss Phebe say she was going to send 
us out this evening.” 

That was a great piece of news, and everything 
else was forgotten as the matter was discussed 
pro and con. No one had ever been outside the 
walls of their village excepting the two roosters, 
and it seemed a terrible and dangerous undertak¬ 
ing to most of the older ones and the little chicks, 
to go out from their safe homes surrounded by a 
high wire fence into the great world, where all 
sorts of dangers and enemies might be lurking 
for them. However, the pullets and young cock¬ 
erels were very much delighted at the prospect 
of such an outing, and had no fear of dangers 
of any kind. 

“Mother, my heart beats dreadfully whenever 
I think of it,” said little Silky Buff. “Won’t there 
be awful wild beasts in the grass to bite us or eat 
us up?” 

“Don’t fear, little chick,” said her mother 
soothingly. “You must stay close to me, and I 
won’t let anything hurt you.” 

16 


The Runway 

“I’m not afraid,” said Silky’s brother, Billy 
Whack. “I’d like to see the wild beast that could 
catch me. I’m an awful good runner, ain’t I, 
Mother?” 

“You’re an awful little bragger,” said his 
mother, laughing. “But I’m glad we are going 
to the meadow. The Stellatown people will 
probably go too, and we shall have a chance to 
get acquainted with our relatives there. I have 
a sister living there whom I have not seen since 
we were little ones. Velvet Comb says she has 
a nice family of eight this spring, just about your 
age. They are Rhode Island Reds, and very 
handsome. It will be nice for you to play with 
your cousins, won’t it, children?” 

“Perhaps they will be stuck up and won’t play 
with us,” said little Pinny, the smallest of Mrs. 
Buff Rock’s children. 

“My dear child, you will always find what you 
are looking for,” said the mother, wagging her 
head wisely. “Never think of pride or conceit 
in others and you are not likely to find them. Be 
17 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
nice to your cousins and they will be nice to you.” 

“Have we any other relatives over there?” 
asked Silky. 

“Several distant cousins among the Wyandottes 
are all,” returned her mother. 

“Velvet Comb says there is one very smart 
little cockerel among them called Dotty Jack. 
He is full of fun and mischief, and is always get¬ 
ting into trouble.” 

“I’m sure I shall like him,” declared Billy 
Whack. “I hope he’ll be there to-day.” 

“You must be very careful not to let him lead 
you into mischief,” warned his mother. 

The man who does everything was working 
away with hammer and saw on a little sliding 
gate at the end of a narrow walk enclosed on both 
sides by a wire fence. He had white hair and 
pink cheeks like Miss Phebe, and like her was 
always friendly and kind to the chickens, so they 
liked him very much and were not a bit afraid 
of him. They came as close as they could and 
watched all his motions with great interest until 


The Runway 

he finally finished the job and went away just as 
Miss Phebe came. 

“I haven’t brought any supper, chicks,” she said. 
“I want you to go and get it yourselves in the 
meadow. You will find a great many fat worms 
and grasshoppers, besides juicy clover and grass 
seeds. You’ll have a very nice time. It will be 
a picnic for you, but I shall expect you all to 
come back promptly at bedtime.” 

They bobbed their heads about as they listened 
to her silently, but no one started. 

“Why don’t you go? The gate is open. What 
are you afraid of?” she asked. They still hesi¬ 
tated, when she said: “Velvet Comb, you start the 
procession. They’ll follow you.” 

She gently pushed him into the long lane as she 
spoke, when he took up the line of march in a 
slow, dignified way, calling “Caw! Caw! Caw!” 
The others followed, marching behind him, the 
old hens with their families first, then the pullets 
and cockerels, and finally Wing Bright brought 
up the rear. 


19 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
Two or three families of chicks just hatched 
out were left behind, as Miss Phebe thought them 
too young and small to go away from home. 

“Thank goodness! They’re all gone,” said 
Mrs. Gray Plym. “Now I’ll give my dainty 
babies their first meal in peace and quietness.” 


20 


CHAPTER III 
THE MEADOW 

I F little Silky’s heart beat painfully at the 
thought of leaving her snug home to go out 
and meet the dangers of the big world, it certainly 
thumped almost to suffocation when she was 
actually outside the gate and surrounded by 
strange sights and sounds. She was so frightened 
at first that she could not see how beautiful and 
interesting everything was about her. She walked 
close to her mother’s side, cheeping loudly all the 
time, and stuck her head under her mother’s 
wing whenever she could. The old hen moved 
slowly along with soothing clucks, and presently 
Silky and her brothers and sisters began to be less 
frightened and to look around a little. 

The grass and weeds were quite tall and tow¬ 
ered above their heads so that they seemed to be 
walking in a forest. Then they would come to 


21 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
open spaces where the sunlight lay on patches of 
yellow sand, and to little shaded glades under red 
sumac bushes. A tiny brook ran like a streak of 
quicksilver through the meadow, singing faintly 
as it glided over white pebbles, and flowers of all 
colors and shades popped out their bright heads 
to say “How do you do” to the strangers. In a 
few days they came to love the spot and to think 
it the most wonderful and charming place in the 
world; but at first everything was so new, and it 
was such a contrast to the bare grounds of home, 
where everything was in plain sight and there 
were no hidden mysteries, that their first impres¬ 
sions were almost painful. 

But they were hungry, and their mother began 
to show them how to catch the insects that were 
all about them, and soon their little crops were 
full of an excellent supper. 

“Here’s a pool of nice fresh water,” said Mrs. 
Buff Rock as they came to a little puddle made 
by a shower that day. “You’d better take a drink 
now while you can get it. You’ll be teasing for 


22 


The Meadow 

some, I expect, by and by when we can’t find 
any.” 

They drank as she suggested, and then came the 
excitement of meeting the strange people from 
Stellatown, who had also for the first time come 
out from their walled town which was only a few 
yards away from Phebeville. The man who does 
everything had made them a runway too, and a 
gate that opened into the same meadow, and, led 
by a big Leghorn rooster whose name was 
Trumpet Tongue, had reached the field when the 
Phebevillians did, and the two sets of neighbors 
at once mingled and began to get acquainted. 

Mrs. Buff Rock and her sister, Mrs. Yellow 
Crop, were soon chatting as though they had 
always lived together, and Billy Whack and 
Dotty Jack never waited for an introduction, but 
at once locked their wings together and started 
off on a trot to see what mischief they could get 
into. 

Silky and her brothers and sisters liked their 
new cousins, the handsome Rhode Island Reds, 

23 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
and it was not long before Silky had found a 
bosom friend among them whose name was Rhody 
Red. The two chicks loved each other the mo¬ 
ment they met, and wanted to be together always 
after that. 

“How sweet and cunning they look!” cried 
Mrs. Yellow Crop as the two cousins stood side 
by side, their tiny delicate bills touching. 

“Yes, and how they set each other off!” added 
Mrs. Buff Rock, as the two fond mothers watched 
the little birds billing and cooing. They were 
both young enough to be pretty, Silky in her pale 
yellow dress of many shades, and Rhody shining 
in a rich red gown, each making the other seem 
more lovely by contrast. 

But they had not been long together when a 
sound of tramping feet in the path near them 
made Silky look around startled, and then spring 
to her mother’s side and stand there trembling as 
a procession of big, strange-looking creatures 
came stalking by. They were what Velvet Comb 
had called the foreigners from Stellatown, and at 

24 


The Meadow 


first sight they looked very fierce and dangerous. 
Some of them were black with queer ruffled 
combs; others had feathers on their legs, which 
reached down to their toes, making them look 
strange and outlandish, and a good deal like 
pirates or Indians on the war path; and all of 
them looked fiercely at her as though they would 
eat her in one mouthful if they could find her 
alone, so the scared little chicken thought. They 
probably did not see her at all, as they were 
hungry and only thinking of the fat bugs and 
grasshoppers their horny beaks were nabbing on 
each side of the path. She was very glad when 
at last they passed out of sight, and all the chicks 
were happy when Velvet Comb said it was time 
to go to their safe home for the night. 


*5 


CHAPTER IV 


AN ENEMY 

I N a few days the Phebeville chicks had grown 
used to the unusual sights and sounds of the 
meadow and had forgotten their fears, so that 
they were inclined to run too far away from their 
mothers as they frolicked and played with their 
cousins from Stellatown in the tall grass and 
under the sumac bushes. 

“I’m almost distracted trying to keep my 
naughty children near me,” said Mrs. Yellow 
Crop one day to her sister. 

“Mine are about as bad,” returned Mrs. Buff 
Rock. “I never knew them to act so. I believe 
it’s the example of that wild little Dotty Jack.” 

“Yes,” said Mrs. Yellow Crop, “he’s very 
naughty, but then, he’s not so much to blame. 
He never had a mother to teach him anything.” 
26 


An Enemy 

“Why, how is thatl No, mother! I don’t 
understand.” 

“Well, you see,” explained Mrs. Yellow Crop, 
“he’s an incubator chick. A little girl brought 
him to the village and gave him to our Robbie. 
The little boy thought one of us would adopt him. 
But we all had as many children of our own as 
we could care for; besides, we were not sure 
about his parentage. You know there is a good 
deal of risk in taking an orphan like that.” 

“Yes, I understand,” assented her sister. 

“He appears to be able to look out pretty well 
for himself, and I think he has good blood. He 
seems to be a Wyandotte,” went on Mrs. Yellow 
Crop, “and that is why they call him Dotty Jack.” 

“I hope he won’t teach my Billy Whack any 
of his tricks,” said Mrs. Buff Rock anxiously. 

“Oh, he’s not really bad, you know,” said the 
good-hearted Mrs. Yellow Crop. “He’s just 
heedless and full of fun, but he’ll get over that 
as he grows up.” 


27 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“I don’t know what makes me feel so anxious 
to-day,” said Mrs. Buff Rock in a worried tone. 

“Perhaps you have eaten something that dis¬ 
agreed with you,” suggested her sister. 

“No, I’m sure it’s not that. I think it’s because 
of Velvet Comb’s dream,” said Mrs. Buff Rock. 
“Ever since he told it to me I have felt as though 
something dreadful was going to happen.” 

“Do tell me what it was,” said Mrs. Yellow 
Crop anxiously. 

“He dreamed that a great brown monster came 
and ate up all our little chicks,” said Mrs. Buff 
Rock with a shudder. 

“That must be the hawk from Buttermilk 
Hill!” said Mrs. Yellow Crop seriously. “Trump¬ 
et Tongue says he expects him to come over here 
almost any day now since we have been going to 
the meadow.” 

“Is that so! Dear me! I wonder where Billy 
Whack is!” said Mrs. Buff Rock, stretching her 
long neck nervously in every direction. 

28 


An Enemy 

Just then a big gray hen from Stellatown began 
to call frantically to her chicks. They were only 
a week old, and very little and weak, but they 
knew enough to dart to their mother’s side and 
hide instantly under her wings and breast. 

“It’s the hawk, sister!” cried Mrs. Yellow Crop 
in dismay. “Oh, where are our children! They 
are all scattered! He’ll get one of them, sure!” 

“No, he won’t!” said Mrs. Buff Rock stoutly. 
“We’ll give them warning and they’ll hide. 
They’ll understand.” 

She turned her head so that one bright eye 
stared up to the sky where a big brown bird with 
great outstretched wings circled slowly about over 
the meadow. Mrs. Yellow Crop followed her 
example, and both mothers began to make a 
peculiar croaking sound deep in their throats, 
always keeping a watchful eye on the hawk, turn¬ 
ing round and round, with one foot planted on 
the ground and acting as a pivot. Half a dozen 
other hens with chickens scattered about also 


29 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
began the warning cry, each turning slowly where 
she stood, with head bent on one side and keeping 
one eye on the terrible bird in the sky. 

Every little chick knew what to do instantly, 
and ran for cover, hiding in the grass and under 
hummocks, all of them getting completely out of 
sight and keeping perfectly still. The great hawk 
came swooping down quite close to the grass, look¬ 
ing everywhere with his red angry eyes for a 
tender little morsel, but not a young chick could 
he spy. He was afraid to attack the grown hens 
and roosters, who were gathered in groups utter¬ 
ing angry and excited cries, and finally he gave 
up the search. He flapped his huge wings, rose 
to a great height, and flew away to a wooded hill 
near by. 

As soon as he was entirely out of sight, the 
mothers called to their children, and the terrified 
little creatures came running from all directions, 
cheeping and gasping as they huddled together, 
as near their mothers as they could get. It was 
not yet bedtime, but every one had been so fright- 

30 


An Enemy 

ened and upset that no one wanted to stay any 
longer in the meadow. Velvet Comb and Trump¬ 
et Tongue called their flocks together, and they 
were soon pouring through the runways on their 
way home. 

Little Silky was so weak from fright that she 
could not make a sound as she clung close to her 
mother. 

“Don’t be scared, little Sister,” said Billy 
Whack, running by her side. “We’re all safe. 
The old hawk has gone.” 

“But perhaps he’ll come back to-morrow and 
catch us,” gasped the timid chick. 

“Oh, no, he won’t! Mother’ll take care of us. 
She won’t let him get us,” said the little cockerel 
confidently. 


3i 


CHAPTER V 


A DAY AT HOME 


T HE next day Miss Phebe and Mrs. Stella 
decided to keep the fowls at home. The 
meadow was too dangerous a place, they thought, 
for the young ones, with a dreadful bird of prey 
all ready at any moment to pounce on them and 
carry some of them off. They all looked back 
with the greatest pleasure to the hours they spent 
in this spot, but they had been so terrified by the 
hawk that they were glad when the news spread 
about that as long as he was likely to disturb them 
they were to be kept in the safe shelter of their 
home. 

“It won’t be very long,” said Velvet Comb, who 
always looked on the bright side. “The man who 
does everything will find a way to get rid of the 
monster. I shouldn’t wonder if he killed him 
to-day or to-morrow, anyway.” 

32 


A Day at Home 

“I don’t know about that,” said old Mrs. Top 
Twist. “Hawks are mean things, and hard to get 
rid of. My mother said one of them spoiled a 
whole summer for her once.” 

“Well, we’ll see,” said Velvet Comb cheerfully. 
“Come over here now and scratch for worms 
where Miss Phebe moved a board this morning. 
It’s all alive with grubs and angleworms. We 
must work fast before they get away from 
us.” 

The young Brahmas were a month old now and 
very large, handsome chicks, all white except a 
black circle around their necks. Mrs. Gray Plym 
was very proud of them, and would have spoiled 
them if she could. But they were so good-natured 
and gentle and kind that they did not know how 
to put on the airs she tried to teach them. 

“What’s the use of being aristocrats and having 
better blood than the rest of us if you don’t show 
it?” she said to them complainingly. “You eat 
and play with those common chicks as though you 
were one of them, in spite of all I say.” 

33 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“Well, they have a better time than if they were 
proud and kept by themselves,” said Mrs. Buff 
Rock, who happened to be near enough to hear 
Mrs. Gray Plym’s remarks. “My family likes 
them ever so much/’ she went on, “and their quiet 
ways have a good effect on my romping rough 
chicks.” 

“You may be right,” said Mrs. Gray Plym, who 
was much pleased with any compliment to the 
children she was so proud of. She was a kind, 
good-natured creature at heart, although she was 
vain and conceited at times, and now that the 
nervous strain of the setting was over, and she 
had brought her babies safely through the first 
stages of infancy, she was quite ready to be neigh¬ 
borly and friendly. 

“You’ve got a fine family yourself, Mrs. Buff 
Rock,” she said cordially. “They all seem to be 
strong and healthy, and they’ll soon be able to 
scratch for themselves.” 

“Yes, they do very well for plain Buff Rocks,” 
said the mother modestly. “They’ve always been 
34 


A Day at Home 

a comfort. I’ve never had any trouble with any 
of them except Silky. The poor chick is so 
nervous she’s afraid of everything, and she’s get¬ 
ting thin every day.” 

“That’s a pity,” said her neighbor, “but per¬ 
haps she’ll outgrow her nerves as she gets 
older.” 

“I hope so,” said Silky’s mother. “I hate to 
have her suffer so.” 

“Perhaps you pet her too much, and keep her 
too near you,” began Mrs. Gray Plym. 

Just then Billy Whack came running up, ex¬ 
claiming, “Oh, Mother, what do you think! 
Squawk and Gawk have laid an egg. They’re 
both out cackling to beat the band.” 

“Do you mean they have laid an egg between 
them, my son?” asked his mother. 

“Why, no, of course not. Each one has laid an 
egg. Miss Phebe made twin nests for ’em, and 
they began to cackle at the same time.” 

“Well, I’m glad to hear those pullets are going 
to amount to something after all,” remarked Mrs. 
35 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
Gray Plym. “Now if they will stick to it, and 
lay steadily, they will be all right.” 

“They’ll have something to do all day besides 
winking and giggling behind Wing Bright’s back, 
I hope,” said Mrs. Top Twist sourly. 

“Well, it’s no wonder the pullets make fun of 
him,” said Mrs. Gray Plym. “He’s very glum 
and poky.” 

“Oh, Wing Bright’s all right now,” said Mrs. 
Buff Rock. “Velvet Comb lets him alone, and he 
seems to take more interest in things. He even 
helped me scratch for worms this morning for 
my chicks.” 

“Old Velvet Comb is jealous!” said Gawk, 
joining the gossips in their sunny corner. “Wing 
Bright is so much handsomer than he is.” 

“Handsome is that handsome does,” said Mrs. 
Gray Plym. 

“I wonder what Velvet Comb is looking at,” 
said Squawk, who as usual was by the side of her 
twin. 

The old rooster was standing in the middle of 

36 


A Day at Home 

the yard, gazing at the distant sky over the 
wooded hill. All the fowls soon followed his 
example, and presently they saw a small speck 
which grew larger and larger as it came nearer. 

“The hawk! The hawk!” they cried excitedly. 

“Don’t be frightened,” said Velvet Comb. “He 
won’t touch us here. But if the mothers feel 
nervous they’d better take their chicks to the hen¬ 
houses.” 

This advice was acted upon quickly, the chicks 
scuttling away in a panic, leaving the older ones 
to watch the oncoming enemy. 

The hawk was soon hovering over the meadow 
where he expected to find his prey, but it didn’t 
take him long to see there was nothing there for 
him, and with a harsh “caw” he settled on the 
limb of a tree near by. 

“Look! What’s that?” cried Squawk, as they 
watched a crouching figure steal through the 
meadow and slip into the shadow of the sumac 
bushes. 

“Hush!” said Velvet Comb. “That’s the man 

37 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
who does everything. He has a gun and he’s 
going to shoot the hawk.” 

They all looked and listened, almost holding 
their breath until they saw a puff of smoke and 
heard a bang, and a crash, and down fell the great 
brown bird in the grass. 

“There! Didn’t I tell you!” cried Velvet 
Comb, jumping up and down in his excitement. 
“I knew he’d find a way!” 

The fowls, little and big, all came running now 
to the yard and began dancing for joy and rush¬ 
ing wildly about, cackling, crowing and cluck¬ 
ing, and it was a good while before they could be 
quiet enough to talk over the great event. 

It was then three o’clock in the afternoon, and 
they were eager to start at once for the meadow 
to meet their friends from Stellatown and have 
a general jubilee with them. But a large black 
cloud had been gathering for some time, and as 
it began to rain soon they were obliged to give 
this up and go under shelter. But they went to 
bed that night feeling very happy and safe, and 

38 


A Day at Home 

dreamed of to-morrow when they might roam 
once more in the beautiful sunny meadow among 
their friends with no horrible dark enemy ready 
to devour them. 


39 


CHAPTER VI 


THE PICNIC 


T HE next day was bright and sunny and the 
Phebevillians were very impatient for 
four o’clock to come, and when at last the gate 
was opened they crowded into the runway and 
rushed out to the meadow with a joyous crowing 
and cackling. The Stellatownites were already 
there, and came in a body to meet them. 

“Isn’t it too good to be true that the hawk is 
really dead?” said Mrs. Yellow Crop to her 
sister. “Trumpet Tongue thinks we ought to 
have a picnic, to celebrate.” 

“That’s just what Velvet Comb proposed,” re¬ 
turned Mrs. Buff Rock. “We ought not to lose 
any time if we are to have one to-day. Where is 
the best place for it?” 

“Under the sumacs, I think,” said her sister. 
Every one agreed that this was the most suit- 
40 


The Picnic 


able spot for their purpose, and Velvet Comb and 
Trumpet Tongue gave orders for every one to 
bring what he could find in the eating line to that 
place, and to be quick about it. The man who 
does everything had thrown the dead hawk upon 
the ground in the center of the little grassy glade 
under the sumacs, and the old roosters decided 
that his back would make a good table for their 
feast. So when the provisions began to come in 
they directed every one to pile them on the glossy 
body of their old enemy. There was soon a big 
pile of angleworms, tumblebugs, flies, grasshop¬ 
pers, and grubs, and when the table was covered 
and could hold no more, the roosters called all 
hands to supper, and they came running from 
every direction, for everybody was hungry. 

The little ones were placed in the front row 
around the table, and the older ones reached over 
their heads. Everybody began at once, without 
any ceremony, and, as there was plenty to eat and 
plenty of room, there was no crowding, pushing, 
or quarreling. The rain of the day before had 
41 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
left little pools of water standing near, so that 
every one had a good drink after eating, and then 
the young ones locked wings and danced around 
the table while their elders stood back and looked 
on. But the mothers and old roosters seemed 
rather restless and anxious now, and were all the 
time peering into the grass and shrubs behind 
them. And they had good reason for anxiety. 
Mrs. Yellow Crop had brought the news that 
Dick Dead Eye, Mrs. Stella’s family cat, had 
been caught in the act of stealing little chickens 
right out from under their mother’s bills, and 
there was no telling when he might come and 
snatch away one of their own precious darlings; 
for it is well known that when a cat learns this 
dreadful habit there is no safety for little chicks 
that are within his reach. 

“Don’t tell the children,” said Mrs. Buff Rock; 
“it would spoil all their fun.” 

“Keep a sharp lookout,” said Velvet Comb, 
“and if any one sees him, give the alarm and all 
of us will pitch on to him and drive him off.” 


42 


The Picnic 


Just then Dotty Jack sprang on to the table and 
began to dance wildly, turning summersaults and 
cutting pigeonwings. He was just at the pin¬ 
feather age, when his body was bare in spots and 
his little tail was just beginning to grow. His 
neck was scrawny and his legs were long. Alto¬ 
gether, he looked like a very ragged, comical little 
clown. But the youngsters were delighted with 
his dancing, and cheeped, and flapped their little 
sprouting wings in time as they circled round 
him. 

It was such a pretty sight that the elders looked 
on very much interested and forgot entirely about 
the cat. But Wing Bright was still watching, and 
presently his sharp eye caught a glimpse of a 
silent yellow figure, like a panther’s, stealing 
through the grass. With a loud “caw” the brave 
young rooster rushed on the enemy just as he was 
about to spring on a baby chick belonging to a 
rather foolish young mother, Mrs. Sukey Towsel, 
who had just come to the meadow, although she 
had been told to stay at home, and had carelessly 
43 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
allowed her babies to stray away from her while 
she watched the dancing around the table. Wing 
Bright was in time. He pounced on Dick Dead 
Eye with such fury, and gave him such a vicious 
peck with his sharp beak, that the astonished 
robber gave up all thought of his prey and turned 
and ran for his life. 

It happened that Miss Phebe and Mrs. Stella 
were just then walking through the meadow, and 
saw Dick running away while all the fowls from 
both villages were cackling and chattering in the 
most excited manner. 

“He’s after the little chicks, Aunt Phebe,” said 
Mrs. Stella. “There’s no use in trying to keep 
him after this. He’ll have to walk the chloro¬ 
form road.” 

The ladies passed on, and the fowls, feeling 
much relieved to hear of the fate awaiting the 
monster they had feared, gathered around Wing 
Bright to thank him for his courage, vigilance, 
and bravery. Even Velvet Comb said heart¬ 
ily: 


44 


The Picnic 

“Well done, young fellow 1 Phebeville is proud 
of you to-day.” 

Wing Bright took his honors very modestly, 
and slipped into the background while the excited 
cackling and buzzing went on. But he was very 
proud and happy. 

“What is the matter, Mother?” asked Silky, 
who could not understand what all the commo¬ 
tion was about. 

“Nothing,” said her mother. “We had a little 
scare, but it is all over now. Run and play with 
the others while you can; we’ll have to go home 
soon.” 

“But, Mother—” began Silky. 

“Do as you are told, and don’t ask any more 
questions,” said the old hen, rather severely for 
her, and the small chick darted away to join her 
companions, who were also ignorant of the danger 
they had all been in. 

But a more serious mishap occurred before the 
eyes of the frightened youngsters, from which the 
care and forethought of their mothers could not 
45 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
save them. Dotty Jack seemed to be wild with 
excitement. He danced; he tried to fight the 
other young cockerels; he strutted about, mimick¬ 
ing Trumpet Tongue’s walk, and finally jumped 
up on the edge of a pail of water that stood in a 
little open space. The man who does everything 
had left it there for a moment while he went on 
an errand. The chicks gathered round the crazy 
young Dotty, wondering what he would do next. 

“See me run round the edge of this pail!” he 
bragged, trying to put one foot before the other 
and balance himself at the same time. 

“Oh, don’t try to do that, Dotty!” cried Rhody 
Red in distress. “You’ll surely fall in and be 
drowned.” 

“No, I won’t. Who’s afraid!” cried the foolish 
chick. But as he spoke over he went, splash! into 
the water, and then the squawking he set up as 
he tried to keep his head above water could be 
heard all over the meadow. The chicks ran 
crying to the older ones, who gathered round the 
pail, all of them helpless to do anything. 

46 


The Picnic 


“He’ll have to die, I’m afraid,” said Trumpet 
Tongue, turning away. 

“Poor, foolish little chap!” said Velvet Comb 
sadly. 

Dotty Jack was gasping now. He was too weak 
to cry, and in a moment more he was still. 

“Our little clown will never amuse us again,” 
said Trumpet Tongue mournfully, and when, just 
then, the man who does everything came back and 
lifted the limp little form from the water and 
laid it on the grass, the company gathered round 
and looked sadly and silently down on their little 
favorite who had been taken away from them so 
suddenly. 

“Let us cover him with leaves,” said one of the 
Wyandotte pullets from Stellatown, as she threw 
a spray of clover on the still figure. 

“No, I’m sure Charley and Robert and those 
little black-eyed girls they play with will give 
him a fine funeral, and bury him under the rose¬ 
bush,” said Mrs. Yellow Crop. “We should leave 
him uncovered, so that they may find him.” 

47 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“Look!” cried Squawk excitedly. “Didn’t he 
move his foot then?” 

“Yes, he surely did!” exclaimed several together 
in a moment more. 

And now there was no doubt that the chick was 
alive, for his body began to twitch and shiver, and 
there was a gurgling in his little throat. 

“Dear little orphan!” said Mrs. Buff Rock, 
bending over him. “His time hasn’t come yet. I 
believe he’s going to live.” 

Dotty Jack opened one eye, and Billy Whack 
declared that he winked at him. 

“I’m cold,” whispered the little fellow faintly. 

“Here! let me cuddle you under my feathers,” 
said the motherly old hen, spreading one big 
wing over the shivering little wretch, and draw¬ 
ing him to her soft breast. 

He stayed there till his feathers were dry and 
he was able to stand on his feet, and then, poking 
out his saucy little head, he cried in his small 
piping voice: “I’m hungry! Can’t you give me a 
worm or something?” 


48 


The Picnic 


The fowls had all been standing in suspense, 
most of them on one foot, while Dotty was out of 
sight under the feathers. They were very fond 
of the young rascal and had felt very sad at the 
thought of losing him. After seeing him appar¬ 
ently drowned it did not seem possible that he 
could come back to life, and now there was no 
doubt that he was as much alive and as pert and 
gay as ever. 

They immediately began to cackle and cluck 
their satisfaction as they all rushed about to 
gather worms and flies for him. He soon had all 
he could eat, and then it was time to go home. 
The exciting day was over. Trumpet Tongue 
and Velvet Comb sounded the call for the march 
to the runways. Dotty Jack skipped out from the 
sheltering wing of his kind old friend and walked 
along with his young companions with a jaunty 
air, as though he had done something to be proud 
of. Billy Whack went with him to the gate of 
Stellatown. He admired his young friend very 
much and felt rather envious of his daring and 
49 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
gay spirits, as the other young cockerels did, and 
all of them were inclined to make a hero of him. 
This made him more conceited than ever until 
Trumpet Tongue took him one side before he 
went to bed, and gave him a good lecture on the 
selfishness and folly of his heedless behavior. 
Dotty was very sorry and sober as he took his 
place on his perch. He had not meant to be 
bad. He had only been thoughtless, but he prom¬ 
ised to try to be a better chick in future and not 
give so much trouble to the kind friends who were 
so good to him. 


50 


CHAPTER VII 


THE LIGHT BRAHMAS 

A LTHOUGH the Brahmas were gentle and 
l good-natured and never quarreled or as¬ 
serted themselves, they were disliked and shunned 
by some of the fowls in Phebeville. These made 
spiteful remarks whenever the Brahmas came in 
sight, and were always very rude and unkind to 
them. 

“I suppose they think that black necklace they 
wear all the time is awful pretty!” remarked Mrs. 
Top Twist to her intimate friend, Mrs. Jerkweed, 
as the two stood gossiping together within hear¬ 
ing of the Brahmas. 

“Well, I don’t agree with them if they do,” said 
Mrs. Jerkweed with an ill-natured cackle. “If 
my children had such an ugly streak of feathers 
round their necks I’d pull ’em all out!” 

“So would I!” said her friend emphatically. 
Si 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
“I could endure their looks, though, if they had 
any sense, but they’re as stupid as owls. They 
have nothing to say to you except ‘good-night’ and 
‘good-morning,’ and they go off by themselves at 
meal-time, as if they were better than the rest 
of us.” 

“Yes, they’re awfully stuck up,” said Mrs. Top 
Twist. “But I’ve told my children to keep away 
from them and not take any of their snubs. I 
guess my family is as good as Mrs. Gray Plym’s 
any day.” 

“Biddy Gray Plym’s head is completely turned 
since she had this family, and she is too conceited 
for anything. She never had any but common 
Plymouth Rocks before, and now, since she has 
hatched these aristocrats, as she calls them, she 
puts on airs and thinks she’s nicer than anybody 
in the yard.” 

If the light Brahmas knew of the ill-natured 
talk going on about them they paid no attention 
to it, but went about all day cheerfully with their 
nervous, fussy mother, calmly eating their food 
52 


The Light Brahmas 

or playing with one another and the chicks who 
were their friends in other families. They seemed 
to wish to be friendly with any one who would 
speak to them, and were always quiet and happy, 
as though they had not an enemy in the world. 

They were very fond of little Silky Buff and 
her brothers and sisters, and the two families, to¬ 
gether with the Rhody Reds, passed many happy 
hours together in the meadow, hunting bugs and 
flies and playing games of hide and seek under 
red sumacs while their mothers gossiped with one 
another. 

Silky was very much troubled at the way the 
Top Twists and Jerkweeds treated her friends, 
and one day she talked about it to her mother. 

“I don’t see why they act so hateful,” she said. 
“They run away whenever the Brahmas come 
near them, and call them naughty names and 
make fun of their necklaces. I think they’re 
pretty. Don’t you, Mother?” 

“Of course. Every one thinks they are lovely, 
but some of our people are jealous because the 
S3 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
Brahmas are handsomer and have better manners 
than they have, and so they say hateful things 
about them. It’s very silly, for it only makes 
them unhappy and doesn’t hurt the Brahmas. I 
hope you will never be envious.” 

“I love the Brahmas too much to envy them,” 
said little Silky ardently. “I think we ought to 
be proud of them. They haven’t any in Stella- 
town, and they want some awfully. You ought 
to hear Billy Whack bragging to Dotty Jack 
about them!” 

“That’s silly too,” said the wise old mother. 
“I’m sorry to hear that about Billy Whack. Pride 
is as bad as envy. We’re not any better than 
Stellatown folks simply because Miss Phebe 
chose to have some Brahmas.” 

“I’m awfully glad she did have them,” said the 
little chick. “I think they’re ever so much nicer 
than any of us. They never quarrel or tease, or 
snatch things away as the Jerkweeds do, and 
they’re always pretty and clean.” 

Silky and her mother had this talk in the 


54 


The Light Brahmas 

morning, just after Miss Phebe had fed the fowls, 
so they were much surprised when she came back 
to the yard soon after with a man whom they 
had never seen before. 

“There they are. Aren’t they beauties!” cried 
Miss Phebe, pointing to the light Brahmas, who 
were standing in a group with their mother. 

The sun shone brightly on their pure white 
feathers and made the rings round their necks 
seem blacker and more glossy than ever. They 
were large and plump, with very red combs and 
clean feet with feathered legs, and they carried 
their heads in such a stately way that they looked 
dignified and aristocratic and made the other 
fowls seem very common indeed. 

“They’re first-rate specimens,” said the man. 
“I’ll give you a dollar apiece for them. That’s 
more than the market price, but I have several 
orders in for Brahmas and I must get them as 
soon as possible. I brought my wagon along to 
take them home with me.” 

The man pulled out his purse as he spoke and 

55 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
began to count some bills. Miss Phebe looked 
thoughtful. “The price is all right,” she said, 
“but somehow I can’t bear to part with my 
chickens. I’m very fond of them all and I don’t 
want to spare any of them, yet I need the money, 
and your offer is a tempting one. Come into the 
house, and give me a little more time to decide.” 

When they were gone the fowls were dumb 
with amazement, and looked at one another in 
dismay. Could it be possible that their mistress 
would sell any of them, especially the Brahmas! 
They were all really at heart very proud of the 
young aristocrats, and considered Phebeville much 
superior to Stellatown because of them; and al¬ 
though there were a few who had been hateful 
and envious of them, most of the fowls were very 
fond of the gentle, inoffensive creatures, and 
greatly distressed at the thought of losing them. 

Mrs. Top Twist was the first to find her voice. 
She forgot entirely that she had been snubbing 
and backbiting the Brahmas as she said angrily: 

“It’s a perfect shame to take the best we have. 

56 


The Light Brahmas 

If any must be sold, why can’t it be Squawk and 
Gawk? Nobody would miss them.” 

“Oh, yes, we should! We couldn’t spare the 
twins,” said Mrs. Buff Rock. “We couldn’t spare 
any one, and I don’t believe Miss Phebe will ever 
sell us.” 

“Of course she won’t,” said Mrs. Gray Plym 
decidedly. “I’m not a bit afraid. My mistress 
would never sell my children, anyway.” 

“She’d sell yours as quickly as anybody’s,” said 
Mrs. Jerkweed tartly. “You think you’re her 
special pet and favorite, but you’re mightily mis¬ 
taken.” 

Mrs. Gray Plym’s feathers ruffled as she began 
an angry reply, but Velvet Comb interrupted. 
“Stop quarreling, and listen,” he said. “If we 
hear the man drive away, we shall know our 
Brahmas are safe.” 

Every one was still at once, and the younger 
ones peeped through the fence to try to get a 
glimpse of the stranger’s wagon. It seemed a 
long time to them, but it was probably only a few 
57 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
minutes before they heard the sound of wheels 
rolling on the gravel drive by the side door of 
Miss Phebe’s house. There was a moment more 
of breathless silence until the sound died away in 
the distance, and then they knew the danger was 
passed. 

Silky Buff and Billy Whack, with Squawk and 
Gawk and all the other little chicks, began to 
dance wildly around the Brahmas, who had stood 
perfectly calm and quiet during the whole discus¬ 
sion. Velvet Comb and Wing Bright crowed 
joyfully, while the mothers gathered around Mrs. 
Gray Plym to cackle their congratulations. 

It was a happy day for all, for now they knew 
their dear mistress would never separate them, 
and they made many resolutions to lead in future 
better, more industrious lives, to show her they 
appreciated her goodness to them. 

When Miss Phebe came at four o’clock to open 
the gate into the meadow, Mrs. Stella was with 
her. “Why, you didn’t sell your Brahmas, after 
all, Aunt Phebe!” she exclaimed. 

58 


The Light Brahmas 

“I couldn’t,” said Miss Phebe, smiling. “Mr. 
Frost offered me a dollar each and afterward a 
dollar and a quarter, he was so anxious to get 
them; but money can’t buy my chickens; I love 
them too much to sell them.” 

The Phebevillians were full of excitement as 
they rushed to meet the Stellatownites that day, to 
tell them the great news, and Mrs. Top Twist was 
the first to give Mrs. Yellow Crop the story of 
the peril which their precious Brahmas had been 
in, and how they had been spared to be the joy 
and pride of Phebeville. 


59 


CHAPTER VIII 


‘‘EAST OR WEST, HOME’S BEST” 

JNT Buff Rock, may Silky go home and stay 



JTjl with me to-night?” asked Rhody Red one 
evening just as the outing in the meadow was over 
and the fowls were getting ready to go home. 

“Why, no, I guess not,” said the old hen, look¬ 
ing at Silky, who stood at Rhody’s side. “I’m 
afraid she’d make too much trouble. Besides, 
she’d be homesick.” 

“No, I wouldn’t, Mother. I’d be just as good! 
I want to go awfully. Aunt Yellow Crop has 
asked me, too. Please let me, Mother,” teased 
Silky. 

“But,” returned the mother hesitatingly, “I 
don’t know about trusting you away from home 
over night. You might have the pip or the gapes, 
you know, and then what would you do without 
mother?” 


60 


“East or West, Home’s Best” 

“Let her go, Sister,” said Mrs. Yellow Crop 
kindly. “The chicks have set their hearts on 
sleeping together. I’ll take good care of her.” 

“All right, then, you may go. But you must be 
good and quiet, and not touch anything without 
leave, and mind just what Aunt tells you.” 

“Yes, Mother, I will,” cried the small chick 
excitedly. And laying her dainty bill on her 
mother’s for a good-night kiss, she darted off with 
her pet cousin to spend the night in Stellatown. 
Her heart beat fast and her eyes shone brightly 
as she walked along, for this was to be a great 
event in her life. She had never been away 
from her mother for even five minutes before, and 
now she was going to spend a whole night among 
strangers away from home. But she was not 
afraid. She was very fond of her cousins, espe¬ 
cially of Rhody Red, and she knew that her aunt 
would take good care of her and protect her from 
all harm. Then, she was going to see with her 
own eyes the wonderful Stellatown she had heard 
so much about. Perhaps she would see Mrs. 
61 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
Stella and Charley and Bob, too. How much she 
would have to tell her brothers and sisters when 
she went home! 

The runway was crowded when she went in 
with her cousins, and several rough young cock¬ 
erels pushed and scrambled their way along and 
the little ones would have been stepped on and 
injured if the mothers had not looked out for 
them. Mrs. Yellow Crop protected Silky with 
her wing so that she reached the grounds safely 
with the others and began to look around. How 
big and fine everything seemed! Ever so much 
grander than it was at home! The houses were 
larger and finer; there were three dust holes to 
wallow in where they had only one in Phebeville, 
and the water-dishes were painted a beautiful red. 

Silky admired everything very much, as Rhody 
expected her to, but she felt rather timid and 
bashful as her cousin showed her round the 
premises. 

Dotty Jack went with the pair, although Rhody 
tried to make him go back. “We don’t need 
62 


“East or West, Home’s Best” 
you,” she said. “I can show Silky everything, 
and you talk so loud you make every one’s head 
ache.” 

The young cockerel paid no attention to this 
suggestion, but kept close to the side of the guest, 
bent on doing his share of entertaining her. He 
talked all the time, much to Rhody’s disgust, 
while they were inspecting the houses and peeping 
into dark corners where a number of brooding 
hens sat, and took the words out of the little 
pullet’s mouth when she tried to tell Silky about 
the patent conveniences Stellatownites were so 
proud of. 

“I bet you haven’t got that in Phebeville,” he 
said in a bragging tone as they stood in a little 
house in a corner. 

“No, we haven’t; what is it?” asked Silky, 
looking at a piece of white cloth with a hole in 
it, which was fastened into a box. 

“That’s a trap nest,” explained Dotty. “The 
hen lays her egg, and it rolls through the hole and 
under the cloth so she can’t step on it.” 

63 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“Pooh! That’s not what it’s for. What do you 
know about trap nests?” said Rhody, who was 
beginning to feel rather jealous of Dotty Jack. 

“I know as much as you do, Miss Smarty!” 
returned the little cockerel angrily. 

Silky was afraid there would be a quarrel, but 
just then Rhody darted away, saying, “I heard 
Mrs. Stella’s voice. She’s come to close the gate 
and say good-night.” 

“Is that Mrs. Stella?” asked Silky as she fol¬ 
lowed Rhody to the door and saw a fair face 
shaded by yellow hair looking over the fence. 
“Why, she’s a Buff Rock, isn’t she?” 

“That’s what mother says,” returned Rhody 
eagerly. “But the Wyandottes declare she be¬ 
longs to their family.” 

“What you talking about?” said Dotty jeer- 
ingly. “She’s no chicken. She hasn’t any 
feathers.” 

“But mother says she’ll have ’em some time,” 
persisted Rhody. 

“What makes her think so?” 

64 


“East or West, Home’s Best” 

“Why, you know the man that comes and looks 
at us Sunday mornings with his hands in his 
pockets ?” 

“Yes; what about him?” 

“Well, Mother heard him say one day that all 
Mrs. Stella needed was wings, and he expected 
to see them sprouting some day. And she 
couldn’t have wings without feathers, could she?” 
declared the little chick triumphantly. 

Dotty Jack seemed to be silenced by this argu¬ 
ment, and Silky remarked: “I’d rather have those 
pretty clothes she wears than all our feathers.” 

“That’s what I told mother,” said Rhody, “but 
she said I didn’t appreciate my blessings and that 
our feathers were a great deal nicer than any 
clothes made by a dressmaker. They were always 
ready, and fresh, and suitable for every day, and 
always in fashion, while poor Mrs. Stella had to 
give a great deal of time and thought and money 
in getting her clothes ready to wear. And then 
she had to put them on and off a great many 
times, whether she was tired or not. Mother says 
65 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
it’s a great advantage to be a chicken and not have 
that bother.” 

“Are they Charley and Bob?” asked Silky as 
two yellow-haired little boys came to their 
mother’s side and looked through the wire fence. 
“‘Will they have feathers some day, too?” 

“Yes, I suppose so,” answered Rhody. “And 
I guess they will come pretty soon, for they can 
crow already almost as loud as Trumpet Tongue.” 

Dotty Jack now ran off to his own place to go 
to bed. Mrs. Stella and the boys went away, and 
Rhody said they must hurry or they wouldn’t be 
able to get a good place on a perch. When they 
reached the henhouse they found it a large, airy 
place, but there was a good deal of confusion 
and noise as the fowls crowded and jostled one 
another in their efforts to get the best places. 
Silky was sure the folks at home behaved much 
better, as she shrank back frightened when her 
cousin tried to lead her into the crowd. But in 
a moment she felt relieved when she heard her 
aunt’s voice call: 


66 


“East or West, Home’s Best” 

“Come here, Rhody! I’m saving a place for 
you and Silky by me. But you’ll have to hurry. 
I can’t hold it much longer.” 

The chicks followed her voice and were soon 
tucked in by the side of fat Mrs. Yellow Crop, 
who told them to shut their eyes and go to sleep 
as soon as possible. It was very late, and every¬ 
body was tired. 

But Silky could not sleep, even when the noise 
about her had stopped. It was so dreadful to be 
in this strange place in the dark, so far away 
from her mother. She tried to be quiet, so as not 
to disturb any one, but at last she could hold her 
breath no longer and she began to cry in a smoth¬ 
ered way. Her aunt wakened and asked her 
kindly what was the matter. 

“Oh, I’m so homesick!” wailed the poor little 
chick. “I want mother. Can’t I go home, 
Aunt?” 

“Why, no, of course you can’t; how can you? 
You’ll have to stay all night, and you must be a 
brave chicken. Now stop crying and go to sleep, 
67 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
and in the morning Mrs. Stella will have a good 
breakfast for us.” 

Silky choked down her sobs and kept still for 
a little while, but presently she heard a strange, 
gruff voice in the room, which frightened her so 
that she wakened her aunt in alarm to ask what 
that dreadful noise was. 

“Only Trumpet Tongue talking in his sleep,” 
said Mrs. Yellow Crop rather impatiently. “That 
isn’t going to hurt you. Now, try not to be so 
nervous. Tuck your head under your wing and 
go to sleep like a good chick.” 

But poor little Silky was trembling all over. 
She was so lonely and homesick it seemed to her 
she would die if she could not go straight to her 
mother. She imagined there were all sorts of 
dreadful enemies lurking in the dark corners 
ready to jump out at her. She had once caught 
a glimpse of Dick Dead Eye, and although she 
had heard the man who does everything say he 
had taken the old cat away where he would never 
trouble chickens again, she was sure she saw his 
68 


“East or West, Home’s Best” 
yellow eyes glaring at her out of the dark and 
that he was all ready to spring at her. 

“Oh, Aunt! I can’t bear it any longer!” she 
cried, bursting into loud, distressing cheeps. “I 
must go to mother! I must! I must! I shall 
die if you don’t take me home!” 

“Stop that chick’s noise!” called out Trumpet 
Tongue sternly. “What does she mean by dis¬ 
turbing us in this way!” 

“She’s my niece from Phebeville, Mr. Trumpet 
Tongue. She’s visiting Rhody, and she’s so home¬ 
sick she can’t sleep,” said Mrs. Yellow Crop 
apologetically. 

“Well, if she can’t sleep that’s no reason for her 
keeping the rest of us awake,” grumbled the old 
rooster. “If she don’t keep still I’ll come over 
there and give her something to cry for.” 

This was an awful threat, and Mrs. Yellow 
Crop tried her best to soothe the little stranger. 
But Silky was now hysterical, and could not stop 
her crying if she would. Her loud, distressful 
“cheep! cheep! cheep!” could be heard all over 
69 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
the place and waked all the chickens, who began 
to ask what was the matter. There was a great 
stir and confusion, and there is no telling what 
would have happened if Mrs. Stella had not 
come in with a lantern. 

“What does all this noise mean?” she asked. 
“Has the old rat got in here again?” 

Silky’s shrill voice rose above all the others, 
and Mrs. Stella soon saw what the trouble was. 

“Why, you don’t belong here,” she said, taking 
the suffering little creature gently in her hand. 
“You must be one of Aunt Phebe’s chicks. Come 
with me. I’ll take you home.” 

Silky was so exhausted and so relieved that she 
stopped crying and cuddled up to Mrs. Stella’s 
soft chin with little gasping sighs while she was 
being carried across the garden to her own home. 

Miss Phebe had seen the light of the lantern 
and had come down to the gate to see what was 
the matter. 

“This little chicken must belong to you, Aunt 
Phebe,” said Mrs. Stella. “It isn’t mine. I 
70 


“East or West, Home’s Best” 
found it crying terribly in my chicken house. It 
must have come in by mistake to-night from the 
meadow.” 

“Why, of course. It’s my Silky,” said Miss 
Phebe, tenderly taking the small wanderer in her 
hand. “How her poor heart beats! She’s dread¬ 
fully frightened. But she’ll be all right very 
soon when I take her to her mother.” 

Silky thought that if she lived to be a hundred 
years old she could never be so happy again as 
she was that moment in Miss Phebe’s kind warm 
hand, which placed her in a moment more on a 
perch by her mother’s side. 

The old hen clucked gently as Silky pressed 
close against her soft breast, and when Miss 
Phebe had left them she said: “Was my little 
chick homesick after all?” 

“Oh, I’ll never leave you again, Mother, 
never!” said Silky with a little sob. 

“I hope not, dear. But now you must go to 
sleep. You are all tired out, and we mustn’t dis¬ 
turb the others.” 


7i 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

Silky was silent for a moment, and then called 
in a low voice: “Mother!” 

“Well, dear?” 

“Dotty Jack says Stellatown is nicer than 
Phebeville. It isn’t, is it?” 

“No, I think not. It couldn’t be.” 

“And he said there’s a chicken town twice as 
big as Phebeville and Stellatown put together. 
He said he saw a picture of it, and there was a 
wagon there with four horses to carry away the 
eggs, there were so many of them. You don’t 
believe that’s true, do you, Mother?” 

“It’s rather a big story. Perhaps he was jok¬ 
ing,” said her mother. 

Another silence, and then Silky said in a low, 
sleepy voice: “Mother, isn’t Phebeville the big¬ 
gest and prettiest and nicest place in the world?” 

“Yes, dear, of course it is. Now go to sleep 
or Velvet Comb will give us a scolding.” 

“But, Mother—” persisted the sleepy little 
voice. 


72 


“East or West, Home’s Best” 

“Not another word to-night. You can tell me 
all about it in the morning.” 

“Cheep — cheep — cheep —” and then silence. 
Silky Buff was fast asleep. 


73 


CHAPTER IX 


DOTTY JACK’S NEWS 

S ILKY could hardly believe next day that she 
had gone through such a terrifying experi¬ 
ence, and her visit to Stellatown seemed to her 
like a bad dream. Her mother, too, appeared to 
have forgotten about it, as she scratched for 
worms and called her chicks to breakfast in her 
usual bustling way. 

Billy Whack, however, was anxious to know 
what she had seen in Dotty Jack’s home, and she 
was very glad to tell him and her other brothers 
and sisters all about the red watering pots, the 
large, light houses, the trap nest, and the glimpse 
she had had of Mrs. Stella and the two little 
boys. She did not mention the fact that she had 
been homesick in the night, and had to be brought 
home by Miss Phebe, and Billy was too much 
interested in her story to inquire how she hap- 
74 


Dotty Jack's News 

pened to get back so early in the morning. But 
when she reached the meadow that day, she found 
Dotty all ready to tease her for her cowardice. 
Rhody Red took her part and said it was enough 
to frighten any one who was not used to it, to hear 
Trumpet Tongue snore in the night. But Dotty 
Jack would not let the little chick alone. He 
danced around her, flapping his small skinny 
wings, calling her “little coward,” until Silky 
was very much annoyed and ran to her mother for 
protection. The wise old hen knew what to do, 
and silenced the saucy young cockerel by putting 
a fat juicy grasshopper in his mouth. He was 
rather hungry, and ran away with the nice morsel 
to gobble it down under the sumac bushes where 
no one could see him and take it away, and then 
began to play with Billy Whack who came along, 
soon forgetting to tease Silky any more. 

After this the pleasant summer days passed 
with very little that was unusual or exciting to 
the Phebeville and Stellatown chickens. They 
all had such good care, that there was very little 
75 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
sickness or trouble of any kind beyond some little 
bickering and squabbling of the selfish ones. 

Silky Buff and Rhody Red grew up with the 
other little chicks, and by autumn were able to 
scratch for themselves. They were as intimate as 
ever, and never quarreled, and as they were both 
small, pretty, and dainty, there was no cause for 
envy or jealousy. 

One warm day in September, when they were 
together in the meadow, they were eating a big 
juicy blackberry one of them had found, when 
Dotty Jack came up to them looking very much 
excited. 

“Have you heard the news?” he asked. 

“No, what is it?” they eagerly asked together. 

“I heard Miss Phebe and Mrs. Stella talking 
together just now,” he went on, “and they’re 
going to send you two to the Fair in the same 
cage.” 

“I don’t believe it!” exclaimed Rhody. “That’s 
just one of your made-up stories, Mr. Jack.” 

“Honest and true, they really did say that,” he 

76 


Dotty Jack’s News 

returned earnestly. “There is a prize offered to 
the best pair of pullets, and they said you would 
look so sweet together they knew you would take 
the blue ribbon.” 

“What’s the blue ribbon?” asked Rhody. 

“Why, the highest prize of course,” said Dotty. 

“Dear me!” said Silky in dismay, “I don’t want 
to go to the Fair, do you, Rhody?” 

“Yes, indeed, I think that would be fun,” said 
the little red pullet, cocking her head on one side 
and winking fast in her excitement. 

“But we would have to leave home and some¬ 
thing dreadful might happen to us among 
strangers. I don’t want to go a bit.” 

“Oh, no, dear, nothing could happen to us safe 
in a cage, and then we wouldn’t be gone long; the 
Fair lasts only a week,” said Rhody reassuringly. 

“Only a week,” echoed Dotty, “and then you’ll 
have such good things to eat, and there’ll be beau¬ 
tiful things to look at, and you’ll see hundreds of 
other fowls. Why, you’ll never have another 
such a chance in a lifetime!” 

77 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“But I don’t want to go among strangers,” pro¬ 
tested the little pullet. “I’d much rather stay at 
home with mother.” 

“Oh, you make me tired!” cried Jack impa¬ 
tiently. “Why, every pullet in the two towns 
would give her best tail feathers for such a 
chance. You and Rhody would be envied by 
everybody.” 

“But I don’t want to be envied,” said Silky; “I 
think it would be dreadful.” 

“Well, you little stupid, you’ll have to go 
whether you like it or not,” said the little cockerel 
angrily. 

“Are any others going, Jack?” asked Rhody. 

“I heard them say they meant to send two cock¬ 
erels,” he answered. “I wish they’d take Billy 
and me. I’m sure they’ll select him he is so 
handsome. Do you think I would do, too?” he 
asked anxiously, turning slowly around so that 
they could see him well. 

“Yes, of course you will Dotty,” said Silky 
heartily. “You’re just as good-looking as Billy, 

78 


Dotty Jack's News 

now that your feathers have grown, and your 
comb is even redder than his, besides you are the 
best crower in either town. Every one knows 
that.” 

Dotty was very much pleased. He strutted 
about crowing several times and held his head so 
high that he almost leaned backward. 

“You needn’t be so stuck up because Silky 
thinks you are handsome,” said Rhody severely. 
“There are lots of young cockerels just as good- 
looking as you are, and I wouldn’t be surprised if 
some one else went to the Fair with Billy. You 
are too noisy to suit most people.” 

Dotty was angry and began with a sharp reply 
when Silky broke in by saying, “I wonder what 
mother will say to my going to the Fair.” 

“She’ll be proud, of course,” said Dotty. “It’s 
a great honor.” 

“I hope you’ll go too,” said Silky. “If you 
and Rhody and Billy are there, I don’t think I 
would be much afraid.” 

“Of course you wouldn’t,” said Rhody. 

79 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, and we’ll have 
a beautiful time.” 

Dotty Jack left the pullets now to tell his news 
to the other fowls, and the two little friends began 
to talk over the exciting prospect before them, 
and presently Silky asked, “Why are you so cross 
to Dotty Jack? Don’t you think he is nice?” 

“He’s nice and clever and handsome,” said 
Rhody, “but he spoils it all by being so con¬ 
ceited.” 

“I don’t think he is so dreadfully conceited,” 
said Silky. “All young cockerels are like that. I 
suppose it’s natural.” 

“Well,” said Rhody as they began their usual 
walk to the brook for a drink, “if he does go to 
the Fair we will have to put up with him, I sup¬ 
pose, but I hope he won’t make us ashamed of 
him by his bragging and crowing.” 

Mrs. Buff Rock was delighted when she heard 
that her little Silky had been selected as the pret¬ 
tiest pullet in Phebeville to try for the prize at 
the Fair with her cousin, and all the other fowls 
80 


Dotty Jack's News 

thought she was just the one to represent them. 
She was such a shy, modest little creature that no 
one thought of being jealous or envious of her. 

When a large cage came to the yard, and Miss 
Phebe’s gentle hand placed her inside of it, all the 
chickens, little and big, gathered around it to bid 
her good-by, and wish her good luck, and Velvet 
Comb told her she must remember all she saw 
and heard at the Fair to tell them when she 
reached home. 

“Isn’t this fine!” said Rhody, when she too was 
put in the cage by Mrs. Stella. “And what do you 
think! Dotty Jack’s going too! He’s in his cage 
now with Billy Whack. Don’t you hear him 
crowing?” 


8 r 


CHAPTER X 


AT THE FAIR 



HEY had an exciting ride in an express 


I wagon to the railroad station, and a more 
exciting one on the train. Silky was very much 
frightened and disturbed by the noise and the 
jarring of the wheels under her, but the trip was 
a short one, and they were soon whirling over 
smooth level streets in a motor truck to the Fair 
Grounds. 

The two cages were taken into a sort of shed 
with a roof but no sides, and were placed on a 
long low table along with many other cages con¬ 
taining fowls of all sorts. The four newcomers 
were all very much excited at first and made a 
good deal of noise, but after a while they found 
that they were perfectly safe, and that no harm 
could come to them in their cages, so they became 
quiet and contented, and began to look around in 
an interested way. 


82 


At the Fair, 

“Oh, look at those cunning little things over 
there!” exclaimed Rhody, pointing her beak in 
the direction of a pair of Bantams in a cage. 
“Aren’t they beauties?” 

“I wish Miss Phebe would get some of them 
for our yard,” said Billy, looking admiringly at 
the little fowls which were very handsome and 
perfect specimens. 

Dotty spied some others which interested him 
very much, though Silky complained that they 
had harsh voices which she thought were very 
unpleasant. They were spotted Guinea hens and 
they all decided that they did not want any of 
them in their yard at home. 

“There are some Brahmas!” cried Billy, look¬ 
ing toward a pair of large handsome fowls. “But 
they’re not so fine as our Brahmas,” he went on 
decidedly. 

“No, indeed,” echoed Silky. “None of them 
are so nice as our folks at home. Oh, I wish we 
could see them all, and Miss Phebe.” 

“Now don’t be homesick, dear,” said Rhody 

83 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
coaxingly. “If you are, you will spoil all your 
fun and ours too. You know we are going home 
in a few days. Let’s see and enjoy everything 
while we are here, so we can tell the folks all 
about it.” 

“Well, I’ll try,” said Silky more cheerfully, 
“but I wish the fowls would not make so much 
noise, their clucking and cackling and crowing 
make me dreadfully nervous.” 

“That’s because they are in a strange place,” 
said Billy. “They’ll be more quiet when they get 
used to it.” 

“I hope so,” said Silky. “I’m glad you and 
Dotty keep still.” 

“I don’t understand that,” said Rhody. “I ex¬ 
pected them to be crowing all the time.” 

“No use wasting your voice in such a din,” said 
Dotty. “I’m saving mine to crow in the morn¬ 
ing.” 

“Now, Dotty, don’t you crow too early in the 
morning and disturb everybody,” said Rhody 
warningly. 


84 


At the Fair 


“I wonder when we will have anything to eat/’ 
remarked Billy. “I’m getting awfully hungry.” 

A number of people were scattering grain and 
other food in the cages and pens and most of the 
chickens were eating busily, when Silky’s bright 
eyes caught a glimpse of a little blonde boy in a 
white sailor suit, with a tall, pink and white 
lady by his side, both coming toward their shed. 

“Oh, there’s Miss Phebe and Bobby!” she 
clucked joyously. “Now we’ll have our break¬ 
fast, and we won’t be homesick any more!” 

“How are you, chickabiddies?” said Miss 
Phebe cheerily. “Homesick are you? Well, 
you’ll feel better when you eat the nice breakfast 
we have brought you.” 

She and Bobby fed them, and then after watch¬ 
ing their pets for a while they began to stroll 
about among the other cages and pens. 

“Ours are the best, aren’t they, Aunt Phebe?” 
asked the little boy. “Don’t you think they will 
get the blue ribbons?” 

“Of course I do,” answered Aunt Phebe. 

85 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
“That’s what I brought ’em for. Now, my little 
pets,” she went on as they walked back to the 
cages of her own chickens, “I want you to do 
your best to win the first prize, and I’m sure you 
will.” 

Dotty Jack crowed three times, as loud as he 
could, and Billy Whack puffed out his handsome 
chest, while the two little pullets shook out their 
feathers, and flapped their wings, to show that 
they meant to be a credit to the two towns. Miss 
Phebe and Bobby laughed and then went off to 
see the Punch and Judy shows, the big cattle, 
and patchwork quilts, and other interesting things 
always to be found at the County Fair, and then 
they had a ride in the merry-go-round, which 
Miss Phebe enjoyed as much as the little boy. 

It was now ten o’clock, and a great many 
people were entering the grounds. Farmers 
hitched their horses outside to the posts near by, 
and came with their wives and children through 
the gates, and groups of people arrived together 
from the trains which had brought them from 
86 


At the Fair 

nearby towns and villages. The County Fair 
was a great event in that region, and almost every¬ 
body expected to visit it some time during the 
three days it lasted. As they streamed into the 
grounds, the people all looked eager and inter¬ 
ested, and as though they meant to have a good 
time, and as they were all well dressed in their 
holiday clothes, it was a gay-looking crowd that 
came pouring into the poultry shed and other 
exhibition places. The farmers’ wives were espe¬ 
cially interested in the poultry and had a great 
many things to say to each other about the merits 
and failings of the various fowls, as they walked 
from one cage or pen to another. By noon, 
the Phebeville and Stellatown chicks had seen 
more human beings than ever before in their 
lives. And as they were very handsome and at¬ 
tractive, they received a great many compliments, 
and soon grew used to hearing themselves called 
“cute” and “cunning” and “too sweet for any¬ 
thing.” 

Rhody, Dotty, and Billy were very happy and 

s? 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
enjoyed the praise very much. But it made them 
vain, and they strutted about as though they were 
quite superior beings, and even Silky, as she grew 
used to the noise, rather enjoyed looking at the 
gay scene about her. She could see across the 
street a booth full of bright flowers in pots and 
bowls, and beyond she caught glimpses of a pile 
of yellow pumpkins by the side of a table on 
which were heaped beautiful red apples, and 
pears and other fruits. All this glowing color, 
together with the pretty hats and jackets of the 
women and children, and their cheerful chatter 
and laughter made her feel as happy as the 
others, and though she was excited and tired 
when night came, she was quite contented and 
thought it great fun to be at the County Fair. 


88 


CHAPTER XI 


THE BLUE RIBBONS 

HEY were wakened early in the morning 



I by the loud crowing of the old roosters 
and the cockerels, the gobbling of the turkeys, and 
the squawking of the Guinea hens. But it had 
been a quiet night on the Fair Grounds, so that 
the fowls and all the other animals had a good 
night’s sleep. 

The four friends were contentedly eating their 
breakfasts, which an attendant had scattered in 
their cages, when they were very much astonished 
to see two men and three women enter the poultry 
shed and begin to look in all the cages and pens 
in a businesslike way. They had gilt letters on 
the white badges which were pinned on their 
coats, and the chickens heard the attendant say to 
some one that these people were the Judges and 
that they had come to decide who should have 


89 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
the prizes. This was very exciting news and the 
chickens at once stopped eating and forgot to 
cluck and cackle and crow. 

There was a good deal of going to and fro 
among the fowls as the Judges discussed eyes and 
combs, and color and weights. Blue and red 
ribbons were fastened on the cages as soon as all 
the points were decided. The Brahmas, the Ban¬ 
tams, the old hens and roosters, the Guinea hens 
and turkeys, the ducks and geese had all been 
examined and prizes given the best among them, 
before the Judges at last came to the class of pul¬ 
lets and the one of cockerels. Dotty Jack was so 
impatient he could not stand still, and hopped 
about his cage and flapped his wings. Rhody 
Red wagged her head from side to side till her 
neck ached. Billy Whack and Silky Buff were 
more quiet, but they too were very much excited 
when the Judges were at last ready to pass judg¬ 
ment upon them. 

There were a good many pairs of pullets and 
cockerels, and all of them were handsome and in 
90 


The Blue Ribbons 

good condition, but it did not take long for the 
judges to decide in favor of the Phebeville and 
Stellatown chickens. Rhody and Silky made 
such a beautiful contrast in color, and Dotty in 
his pure white feathers and Billy with his lovely 
shadings of buff also set off each other and as all 
four were strong and healthy besides being un¬ 
commonly handsome, the men and women said at 
once, “Oh, we’ll have to give these the first prize. 
There is no question about that.” 

So a blue ribbon was fastened on each cage, the 
red ribbons given to other fowls, and the Judges 
walked away. 

“There! What did I tell you!” cried Dotty. 
“I knew we’d get the first prize.” 

“I thought so too,” said Rhody, “but I was 
afraid we wouldn’t.” 

“I’m so glad! Now Miss Phebe won’t be dis¬ 
appointed!” exclaimed Silky. 

Her mistress was indeed pleased when she 
found the blue ribbon on both cages, and Bobby 
danced for joy and clapped his hands. More 
9i 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
people than ever came to see the prize chickens. 
Silky’s head fairly ached from all the noise and 
fuss made round the cages, and longed for night 
to come to bring rest and quiet. 

But, fortunately for her, it was not necessary 
for her to wait for that time. Horse racing 
began in the afternoon and almost every one went 
to see that exciting sport, and all other attractions 
were, for the time, deserted. A few quiet people, 
most of them children, strolled about the poultry 
shed, and Silky’s nerves had a good rest. She had 
closed her eyes for a nap in the corner of her 
cage when she was wakened by hearing a sweet 
voice say: 

“Oh, Uncle Hal! Here are the prize pullets 
and cockerels. Aren’t they lovely?” 

Silky opened her eyes and saw a fair little girl 
about eight years old, looking through the bars of 
the cage, with a smile on her pretty face. She 
was simply dressed in white, and stood with her 
hand in that of a tall gentleman, who was also 
dressed in white. The eyes of the little pullet 
92 


The Blue Ribbons 

were almost dazzled, the two were so shining. 
The gentleman had fair hair and mustache, but 
his skin was brown, as though he had been in the 
hot sun a good deal. He was straight and tall, 
and well built and looked like the soldier he was, 
although he was dressed in civilian’s clothes. He 
was Captain Framingham of the British army, 
and was in the United States to visit his sister 
and her family who lived in this country. He 
had come with his little niece Marjorie to visit 
the County Fair as a truly American institu¬ 
tion. 

He and Marjorie were tired of the horse rac¬ 
ing, and had been walking about the grounds in 
the warm September sunshine, visiting the stalls 
of the big fat cattle and the houses and booths 
where the fine flowers and vegetables were ex¬ 
hibited, and had finally dropped in to the poultry 
shed to see the fowls. 

“Aren’t they beauties!” said the little girl, still 
gazing at the prize chickens. 

“They certainly are jolly little beggars,” he 

93 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
returned, smiling. “I never saw finer coloring. 
What do you call them?” 

“Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Red,” said 
Marjorie, reading from the card on the cage of 
the pullets. “And, oh, do look, Uncle Hal, at 
those beautiful cockerels,” she went on, going to 
the next cage. “Did you ever see anything pret¬ 
tier than that white one?” 

Uncle Hal examined the card on the cage. 
“Wyandotte and Plymouth Rock,” he read aloud. 
“Truly American names. I never saw anything 
like them before. They must be American bred.” 

Dotty Jack could not contain himself any 
longer. He gave a loud triumphant crow, so 
close to the little girl’s ear that she sprang back 
almost frightened. 

Uncle Hal laughed heartily. “That’s right, 
‘Young America,’ ” he said, “speak up for your 
country! You’re the game cock for me!” 

“Haven’t you any roosters that crow like that 
in England?” asked Marjorie. 

“I never heard one speak with quite so much 

94 


The Blue Ribbons 

impudence,” he returned, still laughing. “I 
wonder what Prince Johnnie would say about 
these specimens.” 

“Who is Prince Johnnie, Uncle Hal?” asked 
Marjorie, scenting a story. “Tell me about him, 
please.” 

“You, an English child, and never heard of 
Prince Johnnie!” exclaimed the Captain appar¬ 
ently very much shocked. 

“I’m not English!” contradicted the child 
stoutly. “Papa is an American. I was born in 
this country, so I am American too.” 

“Well, your mother is English. She ought to 
have told you.” 

“But she hasn’t, so please don’t wait any 
longer,” said the little girl impatiently. “Who is 
Prince Johnnie, and why does he like chickens?” 

The Captain laughed a little at her eagerness, 
and then said: 

“Johnnie is not a prince at all. He is an 
orphan about your age, and lives with his uncle, 
who is a nobleman and a relative of the king.” 

95 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“Just a common little boy like our Tom?” ex¬ 
claimed Marjorie. “Then why do they call him 
a prince?” 

“Well, he is a great favorite of the common 
people of London, and they insist that if he is not 
a prince he ought to be one.” 

“But I don’t see,” broke in the child. 

Her uncle held up his hand. “Just wait till 
I’ve finished,” he said, and then went on. “His 
uncle is very indulgent, and allows the boy to ride 
about the streets with his tutor, and play with 
boys of his own age in the parks. He is friendly 
with everybody and bows and smiles to rich and 
poor alike whether he knows them or not. He 
has a beautiful voice, and has been taught to sing 
very well. He often gives a concert on the streets 
or under a tree in some park when big crowds 
gather round to hear him.” 

“Did you ever hear him sing?” asked Marjorie, 
unable to keep still any longer. 

The Captain smiled and nodded, as he stroked 
the little hand he held in his own. “Yes, once,” 
96 


The Blue Ribbons 

he said. “I happened to be walking in one of 
the large parks, when I heard a clear high 
treble voice, singing ‘Scots wa ’ha wi’ Wallace 
bled.’ I looked around to see where the voice 
came from, and saw the little chap seated on the 
shoulder of a big sailor. He was singing at the 
top of his voice, and as many as fifty people, men, 
women, and children, were standing near listen¬ 
ing to him. When he finished the song they all 
cheered and clapped their hands and then the 
little rascal walked round among the crowd col¬ 
lecting pennies in his hat.” 

“A nobleman’s nephew begging,” said the little 
girl, very much surprised. 

“I was surprised too,” said the Captain, “until 
I saw what he did with the money.” 

“Oh, I hope he didn’t put it in his pocket 1” 
exclaimed Marjorie. 

“Not a bit of it!” said her uncle. “He went 
over to a stand kept by an old woman near the 
park gate, and bought apples, nuts, and cakes of 
her, and then sat down on the grass to eat them 
97 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
with the other children in the crowd. The older 
people looked on while the feast was going on and 
seemed to be much pleased. I suppose they en¬ 
joyed the sight all the more because they had 
provided the pennies for the goodies, and they 
were also delighted to see how really friendly the 
little aristocrat was with them and their chil¬ 
dren.” 

“But I don’t see what that has to do with his 
liking chickens,” said Marjorie. 

“Be patient, dear, I’m coming to that soon,” 
said her uncle, smiling. “I’ve been telling you 
all this to show you how popular Johnnie is and 
how the people of London love him. Well, one 
day he became a real hero to them.” 

Marjorie drew a long breath and snuggled 
closer to her uncle as he went on. “Well, one 
day he was walking along the street with his 
tutor, when he saw a little child running away 
from its mother, right in the path of a runaway 
horse. Johnnie darted toward the baby and 
picked it up just in time to save its life. First 
98 


The Blue Ribbons 

everybody thought Johnnie had been killed, for 
the frightened horse had kicked him as he 
passed.” 

“Oh, how awful!” cried Marjorie, clasping her 
hands. “Did it make him a cripple, Uncle Hal?” 

“No, they soon found only an arm was broken. 
Children’s bones soon mend, and it was not long 
before the little chap was able to be about again, 
carrying his arm in a sling. And then it seemed 
as though the English people could not do enough 
for him. The newspapers all over the kingdom 
published accounts of his brave act, and every¬ 
body seemed to wish to show their love for him 
by making him gifts of all sorts. People from 
all over the kingdom sent him flowers and fruits 
and sweets, and when it was known that he was 
fond of animals, he soon had a perfect menagerie 
on his hands. He especially likes birds and 
fowls. So parrots and canaries and even eagles 
and humming birds came to him by express some¬ 
times from distant lands, and of course he had any 
number of barnyard fowls, from his poorer 
99 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
friends. He seems to like these the best. He 
knows every variety in his various poultry yards, 
and when I saw these fine specimens I wondered 
if he might not like some Americans. I’m sure 
he has nothing handsomer.” 

Marjorie clasped her hands, and her eyes spar¬ 
kled. “Uncle Hal,” she cried, “wouldn’t it be 
nice for me to send him some American chickens!” 

“What a jolly idea,” said the Captain, laughing. 
“I’m sure young Johnnie would be delighted.” 


IOO 


CHAPTER XII 
THE VOYAGE 


T HE chickens were very much interested in 
the story of the brave little prince, and 
talked it over when the Englishman and his niece 
had gone. 

“I wish they would send us,” said Dotty. 
“Wouldn’t it be fine to cross the ocean and be in 
the poultry yard of a prince?” 

“I’d like it very much,” said Rhody, “but 
there’s no use in thinking about it. Of course we 
can’t go.” 

“Oh, I think it would be dreadful to go so far 
from home and leave mother,” said Silky, shud¬ 
dering. “We would never be able to come back!” 

“Don’t worry, little sister,” said Billy sooth¬ 
ingly. “There isn’t any danger. The little girl 
has chickens of her own I think. She talked as 
though she knew all about poultry, and she will 
probably send her own.” 


IOI 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

But Billy was mistaken. Dotty’s hopes and 
Silky’s fears were all to be realized. Marjorie’s 
mother was very much pleased with the idea of 
sending some American fowls to the little prince, 
and her Uncle Hal had taken such a fancy to 
Dotty Jack that he suggested buying, if possible, 
the prize pullets and cockerels they had seen at 
the Fair. 

The Secretary of the Fair gave him the neces¬ 
sary addresses, and he had a correspondence with 
Miss Phebe and Mrs. Stella about the matter. At 
first those ladies declined to part with their 
chickens, explaining that they were pets and not 
for sale. But the Captain was very persevering 
and generally got what he wanted. He made a 
visit to them to explain more fully the case of 
Prince Johnnie and to tell them how disappointed 
Marjorie would be if she could not have those 
particular fowls, all four of which were remark¬ 
ably beautiful in her eyes, and the only ones she 
would be willing to send to the prince. 

The ladies were very much touched by the Cap- 


102 


The Voyage 

tain’s eloquence, and consented to let the chickens 
go, but only as a gift to the little girl. They said 
they could not think of taking money for them. 
All they asked was that Marjorie should let them 
know if they arrived safely in England, and if the 
little prince liked them. 

Marjorie was delighted when she found that 
her Uncle Hal had succeeded in getting the four 
lovely fowls for her, and sent Miss Phebe and 
Mrs. Stella each a beautiful bouquet of rare 
flowers from her father’s greenhouse, together 
with a grateful little note. 

The news quickly spread in Stellatown and 
Phebeville that the pullets and cockerels were 
going to England as a gift to a prince, and every 
fowl was in a state of wonder and excitement. 
There was a great deal of scurrying about and 
cackling, clucking, and crowing as the great 
matter was talked over. The older ones were 
pleased and proud of the distinction which had 
come to the two towns, and gave a great deal of 
good advice to the young ones, who were about to 
103 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
leave them, about how they should behave when 
they were among strangers. But the younger ones 
were rather envious, and could not understand 
why they had not been chosen instead of the 
others. 

Silky’s mother was sorry to part from her sen¬ 
sitive little daughter, but at the same time she was 
glad that she would be settled so well in life, and 
when the little chick told her mother how much 
she feared and dreaded leaving home, the mother 
said, “We can’t always be together, dear. I am 
old and will not live long. You are almost grown 
up now and will be able to take care of yourself, 
and no doubt will have little chicks of your own. 
It is the way of the world for mothers and 
children to part. We must make the best of 
what we cannot help and try always to be cheer¬ 
ful.” 

There was very little time to think much about 
it, for the cages soon came for them, the little 
travelers were placed inside, the good-bys were 
over, and the journey begun to the big steamer 
104 


The Voyage 

called the “Shuttle,” which was to take them 
across the great water to their new home. 

The officers and sailors of the ship were Eng¬ 
lishmen, and when they were told that this beau¬ 
tiful gift they were to carry was given by a little 
American girl to their beloved Prince Johnnie, 
they were all very much pleased and interested, 
and the captain of the ship promised to see that 
the fowls had the very best care during the voyage, 
and were delivered safely to the prince when they 
reached England. 

The two cages were placed in a sunny nook on 
the lower deck where they were sheltered from 
the wind, and where there was plenty of good air. 

The chickens could hear the noise and bustle 
overhead and all around them of preparations for 
starting. The passengers were hurrying on board 
and getting settled in their staterooms. The 
sailors were scurrying about the decks handling 
ropes and shouting to each other, and answering 
the commands of officers. Boxes and trunks and 
bales were being stowed away in the hold with a 
105 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
great deal of rattling of chains and pulleys, and 
a great many other noises combined to make Silky 
think her head would burst from all the din and 
uproar. 

But after a while, she felt the ship moving 
slowly beneath her. She heard the passengers 
calling out messages and good-bys to their friends 
on shore, and presently she could see crowds of 
people on the dock, waving their hands, their 
handkerchiefs, their umbrellas, and hats and 
throwing kisses to those on board, and then they 
went steaming down the beautiful bay, with other 
vessels all about them, little tugs puffing and 
whistling, big boats chugging and smoking, and 
heavily loaded ferry boats darting across their 
path. It was all very bright and gay in the 
morning sunshine. 

“Isn’t this jolly!” cried Rhody, hopping about 
her cage. “I never dreamed that we would see 
so many wonderful sights on our way!” 

“I wish I could tell mother about it,” said 
Silky, rather plaintively. 

106 


The Voyage 

Dotty began to crow with all his might, and 
though Billy was more quiet he too was very 
much excited, and ran from one side of his cage 
to the other to watch with the greatest interest all 
the strange sights. 

“Do stop your noise, Dotty!” cried Rhody. 
“You will make a nuisance of us all before we get 
really started.” 

“No, I won’t!” said the little cockerel stoutly. 
“Folks like to hear me crow. Don’t you know 
that the Captain named me ‘Young America’ and 
told me to speak up for my country? I want 
these Britishers to know that I’m an American 
rooster and proud of it.” 

“That’s the trouble with you, Dotty,” said 
Rhody crossly. “You are full of silly pride and 
vanity. You think folks admire your voice when 
they are only laughing at you.” 

“Crosspatch!” began Dotty angrily, when Silky 
broke in crying, “Oh, don’t quarrel! Let us al¬ 
ways be friends now that we are going so far away 
from home.” 


107 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“Well, I’m sorry I was so ill-natured,” said 
Rhody. “I suppose it was because I’m so dread¬ 
fully tired and nervous.” 

“I guess I was pretty noisy,” said Dotty, hold¬ 
ing his head down. “I’ll keep still now. You 
won’t hear me crow again till morning.” 

Silky was very much pleased to have them all 
peaceful again, and when the ship at last glided 
from the bay into the blue waters of the great 
ocean they all settled down to rest and quiet as 
the other passengers did. 

They were tired from all the excitement and 
change of leaving home and getting started, and 
it was a whole day before they were rested enough 
to take much interest in what was going on 
around them. 

An old sailor fed them twice a day, giving them 
plenty of fresh water and keeping their cages 
beautifully clean, and all the other sailors visited 
them, always smiling and sometimes sticking their 
horny fingers through the wires of the cages try¬ 
ing to stroke their feathers. And soon they had 
108 


The Voyage 

other visitors. The Captain told some young 
ladies at his table in the dining-room the story of 
Prince Johnnie and the present he was taking him 
from a little American girl. The ladies were 
charmed, and immediately told their friends all 
about it. News of any sort travels fast on ship¬ 
board. Before night most of the one hundred 
passengers knew the story, and many of them had 
seen the fowls. Silky was reminded of their ex¬ 
periences at the Fair; there were so many cheer¬ 
ful faces and pretty clothes and so much chatter 
about them. It seemed very familiar to hear the 
voices of ladies and children saying, “Oh, aren’t 
they the sweetest things you ever saw!” “Too 
cute for anything!” “Did you ever see such 
lovely creatures!” 

Every one laughed delightedly when Dotty 
crowed, and he became a prime favorite especially 
among the children, and it was not long before 
Prince Johnnie and his chickens became the chief 
topic of conversation in the dining-room and the 
rows of chairs on the decks. 

(109 


CHAPTER XIII 


A VISITOR 

O NE morning quite early, the fowls were 
wakened by hearing a faint little cry, and 
on opening their eyes they saw a beautiful gray 
and white bird with large wings and delicate bill 
lying close to their cages. 

Dotty Jack jumped down from his perch and, 
sticking his head out between the bars of his cage, 
asked in great surprise, “Why, who are you? 
What’s the matter! Can we do anything for 
you?” 

“I’m a sea gull,” said the bird in a faint voice. 
“I’m dreadfully tired and hungry, so I stopped 
to rest for a while and try to get something to 
eat.” 

“Well, you’ve come to the right place for those 
things,” said Dotty cheerfully. “Nobody on this 
boat does anything but rest and eat. Just wait till 


IIO 



“I’M A SEA GULL,” SAID THE BIRD 





















A Visitor 


old Michael gets here with our breakfast, there’s 
always more than we want.” 

“Is Michael a sailor?” 

“Yes,” returned Dotty, “and he always feeds us 
and takes care of us.” 

“Well, I’ll stay if he comes pretty soon. I 
mustn’t wait too long though. This ship travels 
pretty fast and I’ve got to get back to the others 
or they’ll worry about me.” 

“Aren’t you afraid to come here all alone?” 
asked Silky in her sweet little voice. “Where is 
your mother?” 

“I don’t know,” said the bird, opening one eye 
to look at her. “But I’m not afraid here. The 
sailors are my good friends. They won’t let any 
one harm me.” 

“What is your name, and how old are you?” 
asked Rhody, sticking her head out to get a better 
view of the stranger. 

“Well, I don’t think those are very polite ques¬ 
tions,” said the bird, opening the other eye and 
winking at the little pullet. “But I see you’re an 


hi 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
American, and probably don’t know any better, 
so I’ll answer you. I’m a young one, about your 
age, and everybody calls me ‘a beauty.’ ” 

Rhody drew back rather offended, and Billy 
said apologetically, “She didn’t mean to be rude. 
Her questions were only to show her interest in 
you.” 

“I’m sure of it,” returned the gull quickly. “I 
was only joking just now. I hope she won’t mind 
what I said.” 

Rhody seemed to think this was apology enough 
and was quite good-natured again, as she began 
scratching vigorously the seeds on the floor of her 
cage which had been left from their last meal, so 
that many of them fell near the stranger. “There, 
have some breakfast,” she said. “Old Michael 
may not get here for an hour, and if you can put 
your head through the bars of this cage you can 
have a drink of water from our cup.” 

“Thank you very much,” said the gull politely 
as he began to eat the seeds hungrily. He then 


112 


A Visitor 


crowded his shining head between the bars of her 
cage and drank all the water in her cup. 

“I feel better already,” he said, standing on his 
feet and stretching out his great wings, “and I’m 
pretty well rested, so I must be going, or my 
family won’t know what has become of me.” 

“Oh, stay a little longer!” urged Dotty, “and 
tell us more about yourself. You must lead a 
very interesting life, traveling about as you do.” 

“Yes,” echoed Rhody. “Tell us some of your 
experiences. They must be very different from 
ours, your life is so free, coming and going just 
as you please.” 

“Yes,” said the bird, settling down again for a 
little chat, “I travel about, and fly a great many 
miles every day, but I’m generally looking for 
food, so I don’t have much time to see anything 
else.” 

“You have no home, then, have you?” said 
Silky pityingly. 

“Home! What’s that?” asked the stranger. 
ii3 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“Why the place where you stay nights, and 
;where you play with your brothers and sisters 
and your mother takes care of you.” 

“No, I’ve no such place as that. How could I, 
when I’m always on the wing?” 

“Oh! I’m so sorry for you!” cried Silky. 

“Why are you sorry?” said the gull rather im¬ 
patiently. “You don’t seem to be any better off 
than we are. I don’t see any mother or any little 
brothers and sisters playing around here.” 

“No,” returned Silky mournfully. “We are 
wanderers too.” 

“No, we’re not!” contradicted Billy stoutly. 
“We are on our way to the nicest kind of a home.” 

“Speaking of home, Americans are the last 
people on earth to talk about that,” said the gull 
emphatically. 

“Why, what do you mean!” exclaimed Rhody 
indignantly. “You never saw a chicken in my 
country without a home in all your life.” 

“I can’t say as to that, for I never visited your 
country. I was thinking of human Americans.” 

114 


A Visitor. 

“What do you know about them?” asked she in 
surprise. 

“I ought to know if anybody does,” said the 
bird. “They are always traveling to Europe and 
back, hundreds and thousands of them. The sea 
is full of the great ships that carry them. I 
wouldn’t think there were enough left behind to 
hold the land down!” 

“Why do you speak so slightingly of Ameri¬ 
cans?” asked Rhody. “They have done you no 
harm.” 

“Haven’t they though!” exclaimed the gull 
with strong feeling. “They’re our worst ene¬ 
mies!” 

“I don’t see how that can be,” said the little 
red pullet incredulously. 

“I’ll explain,” said the bird, hopping closer to 
her. “Every American woman and girl wants a 
gull’s wing for her hat, and every American man 
and boy looks at us with murder in his eyes, for 
he will get our wings if he can for his sister or 
sweetheart, and if we were not so dreadfully 
ii5 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
hungry we would never dare follow the ships for 
fear of being killed.” 

“How do you get your food from ships?” 
asked Rhody. 

“A great deal is prepared for the tables, and 
much of it is wasted and thrown into the water. 
We generally get plenty to eat in that way, but 
sometimes the fishes eat it and then we have pretty 
slim picking.” 

He flew over to the railing as he spoke, saying, 
as he perched there for an instant, “I really must 
be going now. I’ve stayed too long. Good-by.” 

The great creature flapped his big wings and 
was off, but he came back in a moment to say, “I 
forgot to tell you that I think you are a pretty 
good sort even if you are Americans. I’m proud 
to know you.” 

“Good-by, come again!” called the chickens. 

“Isn’t he fascinating!” exclaimed Rhody, as she 
craned her neck to watch their visitor’s flight till 
he seemed a speck in the blue sky. 

116 


A Visitor 


“Pooh! I thought him a very light-headed 
chap,” said Billy contemptuously. 

“What a pity he has no mother to teach him 
good manners,” remarked Silky. “Did you see 
how he gobbled down his food, and he drank up 
all our water.” 

“Well, I liked him,” said Dotty stoutly. “He 
is honest and jolly, and what wings he has. If 
he had my crow he’d beat everything that flies.” 


CHAPTER XIV 
THE TWINS 


P EOPLE on shipboard generally grow tired 
of everything very soon. It was so on the 
“Shuttle” during this voyage. It was not long 
before the chickens were forgotten by most of the 
passengers, and only the sailors and a few chil¬ 
dren remembered and visited them every day. 

Among the children who never forgot to make 
them a call, were a pair of twins, Edward and 
Anne Winthrop. They were eight years old, and 
were unusual and queer looking. They were very 
thin, with long legs like straight sticks, and had 
big eyes, noses, and mouths, and as their hands 
and feet were long and slender, they hardly 
looked like children at all. Some people called 
them gnomes. But they were very bright and 
intelligent with nice manners, and though they 
were very fond of arguing with each other, and 
118 


The Twins 


generally took opposite sides of any question they 
discussed, they never thought of getting angry 
and seldom quarreled. 

“I don’t believe we are going to be cast on a 
desert island, Edward,” said his sister one morn- 
ning as the children watched old Michael clean¬ 
ing the cages. “The weather keeps on being nice, 
and we are almost there now.” 

“Yes, we are!” cried Edward, nodding his head 
emphatically. “I asked the Captain yesterday if 
we weren’t going to have a shipwreck.” 

“Oh, tell me what he said!” cried the little girl 
excitedly. 

Her brother put his hands in his pockets and 
looked very important as he answered, “He asked 
me what I’d do if we had one, and I said we 
wanted to live on a desert island like Robinson 
Crusoe.” 

“And then—” Anne was hanging on his 

words. 

“And then he said he thought he could cast us 
on an island pretty soon and of course you know 
119 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
we’d have to have a shipwreck like the one Rob¬ 
inson Crusoe had, before we could get there.” 

“Oh, won’t that be lovely!” cried the little girl, 
clapping her hands, her funny little face break¬ 
ing into a broad smile. “Now, we must get 
everything ready to-day to take with us. I shall 
ask mother to make our bags this morning.” 

“And phwat island may ye be goin’ to?” asked 
old Michael, grinning. 

“It hasn’t any name yet,” explained Edward. 
“It’s a desert island, you know. We’ll name it 
after we get there.” 

“It’s got to have a cave,” said Anne. 

“No, we don’t need a cave,” argued her brother. 
“We can build a house out of a sail from our 
boat. I’ve got it all planned.” 

“But the wind might blow that down and then 
what would you do,” objected Anne. 

“And phwat wud ye be after livin’ on in a 
desert island?” interrupted Michael. 

“Oh, we’ve got that all arranged,” said the little 


120 


The Twins 


girl eagerly. “Edward will have a gun and shoot 
squirrels and pigeons and we are going to take 
along corn and wheat and potatoes to plant, just 
like Robinson Crusoe, you know. We are going 
to have the loveliest garden you ever saw! We 
must have some flower seeds too,” she added, 
turning to Edward. 

“We won’t have any time for anything but 
vegetables,” he objected. 

“Yes, we will, Edward. I’m sure I’ll have 
plenty of time,” urged Anne. “Some morning 
glories climbing over the door of our cave will 
look very pretty.” 

“But we are going to live in a sail house you 
know,” said her brother very decidedly, “and 
vines wouldn’t stick to cloth.” 

“Now, Edward, you know I’d be afraid to 
sleep in a cloth house,” said Anne seriously. 
“We really must have a cave.” 

Here Michael asked, “And phwat would ye do 
for mate the year round? Yer little gun won’t 
121 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

shoot squirrels and pigeons except in the autumn, 
ye know, and ye can’t live on corn and petaties 
alone.” 

“I hadn’t thought of that, Edward, had you?” 
asked Anne anxiously. 

“Ye’d better be takin’ along these chickens 
now,” said the sailor. “Ye know ye might raise 
a whole lot of little chicks from ’em to eat and 
lay eggs for ye.” 

“Oh, what a good idea,” said Anne, dancing 
about and smiling again. “Prince Johnnie 
couldn’t get them if there was a shipwreck, and 
we could have them for our very own!” 

“I could make coops out of driftwood,” said 
Edward, taking up the idea very readily. 

“I think they’d better be kept in the back of 
the cave,” objected Anne. “It will be cool and 
quiet there and we’ll need the driftwood for a 
fence round our garden.” 

“What’ll we need a fence for?” began Edward. 

Just then the luncheon bell rang. The chil¬ 
dren were hungry, and ran off still arguing, while 


122 


The Twins 


old Michael, laughing heartily, moved away to 
other duties, leaving the chickens alone to discuss 
the desert island plan. 

“Oh, isn’t it awful!” cried Silky, crouching in 
a corner of her cage, too frightened to stand. 

“But perhaps we won’t be shipwrecked after 
all,” said Rhody, who was always hopeful. 

“Yes,” echoed Dotty. “See how the sun shines, 
and there is no sign of a storm.” 

“But you know what the Captain told the little 
boy,” remarked Billy soberly, for he too was a 
little frightened. 

“Oh, he was joking of course,” broke in Dotty. 
“He said he would soon cast us on an island. 
Well, England’s an island, you know, and Michael 
says we’re going to land there pretty soon.” 

“Well, that sounds sensible,” said Rhody, who 
for once approved what Dotty had to say. 

“It certainly will be better to be in Prince 
Johnnie’s poultry yard than to live in a desert 
island with those skinny twins,” remarked Billy. 

“Oh, I hope we’ll never belong to them,” said 
123 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
Silky, who was still trembling. “Their voices are 
so shrill they go right through me, and they seem 
to be always quarreling.” 

“Well, never mind, dear,” said Rhody sooth¬ 
ingly. “We shan’t see much more of them, I am 
sure. They will be getting their bags ready for 
the desert island, and won’t have time to give 
to us.” 

All four of the fowls cackled together, which 
was their way of laughing, and then Silky re¬ 
marked, “I’m sure Prince Johnnie will be a very 
different looking boy from that queer Edward.” 

“Of course,” said Rhody. “I suppose he will 
wear a crown and a long red robe trimmed with 
white fur.” 

“Oh, nonsense!” cried Dotty impatiently. 
“Kings and princes don’t wear those things all 
the time.” 

“But I saw on a wall at the Fair a picture of 
a king and a prince and they both had on crowns 
and long red robes that lay on the ground ever 
so far behind them.” 


124 


The Twins 


“Well, those were theater kings and princes. 
Real ones look just like other people.” 

“How do you happen to know so much, Mr. 
Smarty?” began Rhody angrily. 

“Oh, dear, they are going to quarrel again,” 
said Silky plaintively, but much to her relief the 
old sailor came just then with their dinner, and 
they were soon too busy eating it to think of any¬ 
thing else. They had quite finished their meal, 
and were feeling good-natured again when the 
twins came back, this time with their mother. 




CHAPTER XV 


GETTING READY FOR THE DESERT ISLAND 

M RS. WINTHROP was a pretty, plump 
little woman with bright blue eyes and 
white teeth, and it was hard for the chickens to 
believe that those strange-looking nervous chil¬ 
dren belonged to her. She had an arm round 
each child, and laughed as she listened to their 
plans of providing for shipwreck and life on a 
desert island. 

“So you are going to take Prince Johnnie’s 
chickens with you,” she said. “And what will he 
say to that and how will the little girl who gave 
them to him feel about it?” 

“Why, of course they’d be glad to have us save 
them from shipwreck, Mother!” cried Anne, 
“and we’d take good care of them.” 

“Yes, of course, dear, but I don’t see how you 
will feed them on a desert island.” 

126 


Getting Ready for the Desert Island 

“Michael is going to give us some wheat,” said 
the little girl, “and then we’ll have crusts from 
our table and lots of bits from the kitchen, so you 
see they’ll get real fat!” 

“What makes you laugh so, Mother,” said Ed¬ 
ward in an offended tone. “I don’t see anything 
funny in our being shipwrecked and living on a 
desert island.” 

“I beg your pardon, my son,” said his mother, 
looking sober again. “It is serious business that 
you and Anne have undertaken, and I must help 
you all I can.” 

The little girl hugged her mother a little 
closer as she said, “And you’ll make me a bag to 
put everything in, won’t you? It must be just 
like the one the mother had in ‘Swiss Family 
Robinson,’ you know. She always took out of it 
everything that anybody wanted.” 

“Yes, of course I’ll make the bag,” said Mrs. 
Winthrop, trying not to laugh. “That is,” she 
went on, “if I can find a piece of cloth to make 
it of.” 


127 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“I think a sailor will have a piece,” said Ed¬ 
ward. 

“Very well, you may get it for me,” she said. 
“And now tell me what you are going to carry 
with you.” 

The little boy told her excitedly that an old 
sailor had promised him that very afternoon a 
hammer, a saw, a hatchet, and some nails, and 
another sailor would give him a lot of strings. 
“You’ll make me a strong bag too, Mother, to put 
my things in, won’t you?” 

She promised to make both bags, and then 
asked what they meant to do with her, for of 
course she would be with them. “You know I 
want a nice bed and cream for my coffee,” she 
said. 

“We’ll make you a beautiful bed in the back of 
the cave,” began Anne, but Edward interrupted 
her by saying a cave would be much too damp 
for a bedroom. They would have a sail house 
where the sun would keep everything nice and 
dry. 


128 


Getting Ready for the Desert Island 
“But you know it’s always dreadfully hot on a 
desert island,” protested Anne. 

Their mother evidently knew how to stop the 
discussion, for she suggested that it would be a 
good plan to build the sail house over the door 
of the cave, so that they could have coolness and 
sunshine whenever they wished. The children 
agreed to this idea, and they were all talking 
eagerly together when they walked away to make 
the bags and collect the articles they meant to put 
in them. Mrs. Winthrop was very much amused 
by this fanciful idea of her children, which 
seemed so real to them. She was quite used to 
their plays of this sort, and as she was always kind 
and loving she generally helped them to carry out 
any schemes they invented, provided they got into 
no mischief. She once let them sleep all night 
alone in a little tent in the back yard at home, 
when they played they were going west as pio¬ 
neers, and though of course she had no idea of a 
shipwreck on this voyage, and expected to land 
in a day or two, she thought it would do no harm 
129 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
to let them go on with this new play. It would 
keep them busy and happy, she thought, during 
the tiresome hours before they landed. She was 
sure they would forget all about it as soon as they 
reached the shore. 

But she was not called upon to make the bags 
after all. The sailors were very much interested 
in the children and one of them begged to be 
allowed to make them out of an old sail he found 
somewhere. Mrs. Winthrop was very willing to 
have him do it and with the help and supervision 
of the twins a small knapsack to be strapped on 
Edward’s back and a neat little bag to be tied 
around Anne’s waist were finished, and carried 
proudly to their mother’s room. She was very 
much pleased and went herself with the children 
to see the sailor and thank him for his kindness. 

One of the passengers gave Anne a thimble and 
some thread and needles for her bag, and another 
gave her a pair of old scissors and still another 
filled some small bottles for her with camphor, 
vaseline, and witch-hazel. 

130 


Getting Ready for the Desert Island 

“They will be very useful,” the lady said, 
“when you are ill, for I don’t suppose you’ll have 
a doctor on your island, will you?” 

“No, I s’pose not,” said the child gravely. 
“I’ll have to take care of mother and Edward 
myself if they are ill.” 

Every one thought it a very good joke to help 
the children get ready for their shipwreck, and 
many passengers sitting in their chairs on deck 
stopped them as they walked past to talk about it 
and to give them good advice. 

But a very great surprise was in store for all 
that shipload of people, that is, for every one 
except the twins, for on the very next day they 
really did have a shipwreck, and all of them had 
to row away in life-boats to save their lives, while 
they saw their ship sink beneath the water. 


CHAPTER XVI 


SHIPWRECK 


HE “Shuttle” had gone back and forth 



1 between England and America a great 
many times, and until now had never had an 
accident. She was small and rather slow, and for 
those reasons some people liked to make voyages 
on her, and also because she was clean and com¬ 
fortable and safe. 

She carried a good deal of freight but only one 
hundred passengers, who, by the time the ocean 
was crossed, were all pretty well acquainted with 
each other, and generally had a very pleasant and 
sociable time. But she was very old now, really 
almost worn out, and was considered rather un¬ 
safe. Her owners expected this to be her last 
voyage, and the officers were hoping to get her 
into port without any mishaps by care and good 
management. And perhaps they would have done 


132 


Shipwreck 

so if the engineer had not grown careless and put 
a little too much steam on the old engine one day. 

The dining-room was full of people taking 
luncheon, when they all heard the loud noise of 
an explosion beneath them which shook the ship 
and made them jump from their seats, very much 
frightened. In a moment an officer came in 
quickly and told them what had happened. An 
engine had burst and knocked a hole in the side 
of the vessel. The water was coming in, but they 
expected to pump it out and keep the ship afloat 
until they reached land which was now almost in 
sight. 

“Is there any danger, officer?” asked a trem¬ 
bling little woman. 

“Not the slightest, madam,” he replied. “If we 
can’t save the ship there are plenty of boats to 
take away every one on board. Then there are 
many ships within reach to pick us up, so there 
is no reason for any one to be worried or afraid.” 

“What shall we do, officer?” asked a gray¬ 
haired man. 


133 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“The Captain orders you all to your rooms,” 
said the officer, “to pack your valuables in small 
compass, and to put on warm clothing, to be 
ready for a few hours on the life-boats if neces¬ 
sary.” 

The passengers now began to pour out of the 
dining-room to carry out this command. Officers 
and stewards stood in the passages to prevent 
crowding, and afterward stewards and steward¬ 
esses helped every one to pack necessary things in 
bags and bundles, and to put on woolen wraps and 
underwear. 

Edward and Anne were the only ones who were 
not anxious and hurried during these prepara¬ 
tions. They were all ready and had only to strap 
on their knapsack and bag and put on thick 
stockings and wraps. They were not in the least 
frightened or nervous, though a good deal ex¬ 
cited, for this was just what they expected, though 
Edward was somewhat disappointed to have the 
shipwreck come in such a tame way, without any 
storm. Anne, however, was very well satisfied. 

*34 


Shipwreck 

“For now,” she said, “we won’t have to get wet, 
and that will be a great deal nicer.” 

Their mother was almost as cool and collected 
as her children, and when she was dressed and 
had packed her bundles she tried to soothe and 
quiet the frightened women and children around 
her. 

In a short time it was found that there was no 
use to attempt to keep out the water. It came in 
faster than it could be pumped out, and the ship 
was slowly sinking. So orders came that every 
one was to go on deck to be ready for the life¬ 
boats, which were being lowered to the water. 
Sailors had been packing provisions, ropes, and 
various instruments in the boats so that everything 
was now ready. There was no time to be lost and 
every one hurried to the railing, and officers and 
sailors began at once to help the old people, the 
women, and children down the steep stairway, 
which hung on the side of the ship, to the places 
provided for them in the boats. 

When Mrs. Winthrop’s turn came to go down 
135 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
the stairway her children were close behind her, 
and she expected to see them by her side when 
she took her seat in the boat, but they were not 
there. She waited anxiously for a moment think¬ 
ing they might have been pushed back by the 
crowd and would appear later, but the places 
were all taken in a moment and they had not 
come. She spoke to an officer then, who said they 
must be in one of the other boats, but these were 
all filled and she could see her children nowhere. 
She called their names loudly, but there was no 
answer. She was sure now that they had not left 
the ship and tried to run up the stairway to the 
deck to find them, but she was pulled back to her 
seat by an officer who told her that her children 
were safe, the ship would not be left with any one 
on board. So the mother had to go back to her 
seat to wait as patiently as she could. 

The Captain and first officer were now the only 
ones left on deck. The Captain raised his hand 
for silence, and when they were all quiet he told 
them that the names of all the passengers would 
136 


Shipwreck 

be read, and he wished them to answer to the roll 
call quickly and distinctly, in order to make sure 
that no one had been left on the ship. It was soon 
found that all were there except, of course, the 
twins. “Are Edward and Anne Winthrop in any 
of the boats?” asked the Captain. 

“They are not here, Captain,” cried the mother 
in a trembling voice. “They were with me when 
I started down the stairway, but they must have 
gone back for something. Oh, please send some 
one to look for them.” 

“Of course I will, madam,” said the Captain 
heartily. “Don’t worry, we’ll have ’em here in 
a twinkling. My men,” he called, “who will 
volunteer to search the ship for these youngsters?” 

Three sailors sprang upon the stairway almost 
before the words had left his mouth, but when 
they reached the deck the stray twins appeared at 
the Captain’s side, each one dragging a heavy 
cage. They were the only ones on that ship who 
had remembered to save the poor little feathered 
travelers. 


137 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

There was a great cheer from the waiting 
crowds below, as the nimble sailors carried the 
children down the stairway which led to their 
mother’s boat. 

“Oh, children, how could you—” began Mrs. 
Winthrop, when Anne interrupted: 

“Why, Mother, you wouldn’t let these poor 
chickens drown, would you? Besides, you know 
we need them on our desert island,” added Ed¬ 
ward. 

“The Captain doesn’t seem to agree with you 
about them,” said a tall young man who had been 
busy helping the sailors stow the baggage away 
in the boats. “It looks as though he meant to 
leave them.” 

“Oh, Captain,” shrieked the little girl, standing 
on the seat and holding her hands up imploringly, 
“you really mustn’t let us go and leave Prince 
Johnnie’s chickens. That would be cruel. Don’t 
you see they are all shut up in their cages and 
can’t help themselves? They don’t want to be 
drowned any more than we do.” 

138 


Shipwreck 

“And don’t you think Prince Johnnie would be 
glad to have us take them to our desert island,” 
added Edward. 

Every one now had left the deck except the 
Captain and the four feathered passengers, the 
latter much amazed, but not knowing what had 
happened. They only knew that those two 
strange-looking children had suddenly pounced 
on them and dragged their cages roughly away 
from the warm quiet corner where they had all 
been taking an after-dinner nap, and had left 
them standing by the side of a big fat man who 
seemed to be giving orders to some people out of 
sight. No one else was there. The twins had 
disappeared. What did it all mean? Something 
unusual had certainly happened. 

By and by the big man seemed about to desert 
them too, for he had one foot on the first step of 
the stairway when all at once they heard little 
Anne’s shrill voice above the noise and commo¬ 
tion, begging the Captain to save Prince Johnnie’s 
chickens. Then they knew the danger they were 
139 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
in, and were very much alarmed. Poor little 
Silky was so terrified that she became almost un¬ 
conscious as she crouched on the floor of her cage. 
The others waited eagerly to hear what the Cap¬ 
tain would say. But he had been too busy and 
too absorbed in giving orders to even notice the 
chickens when they were brought to the deck, and 
though he had heard the cries of the twins, he did 
not know what they were talking about. But he 
was a kind and considerate man, and when the 
first officer told him that the children were asking 
to have the fowls brought along, and that it would 
take but an instant to get them as they had been 
brought on deck, he said, “Yes, of course, I will 
take them if there is room, but I fear that the boats 
are already overcrowded.” 

“Oh, let the kiddies have ’em, Captain,” said 
the tall young man. “We’ll make a place for ’em 
somewhere. We’ll carry ’em on our heads if 
necessary.” 

Several other passengers said of course they 
would have to take them now, after those dear 
140 


Shipwreck 

children had tried so hard to save their lives, and 
one woman who had been weeping and wringing 
her hands called out in a tearful voice that it 
would be a shame to desert those poor, helpless, 
innocent creatures. 

So the Captain said, “All right, if you can 
manage it.” He nodded to two young sailors, 
who immediately ran up the stairway and brought 
down the cages which were placed in the boat 
with the twins and their mother. 


CHAPTER XVII 


DRIFTING 

B UT now there was no more time to think of 
rescued fowls or even of lost and found 
twins, for the ship was going down steadily, 
and everybody was eager to get away from her 
as soon as possible, for fear of being drawn down 
when she sank. 

The Captain gave his orders, the sailors rowed 
swiftly away on the smooth water, and then they 
all breathed freely once more, and began to make 
themselves as comfortable as possible in their 
close quarters. 

The ship continued to float for an hour after 
they left her side, but at last she slowly sank be¬ 
low the surface and they saw her no more. The 
officers and sailors were sorry, for they had trav¬ 
eled many thousands of miles on her for a good 
many years, and she had been the only home some 
142 


Drifting 

of them had. But most of the passengers were too 
thankful to be safe, with no fear of drowning, to 
think of anything else. 

There were two timid ladies who could not 
think of anything but their danger and would not 
be comforted, but wept and wrung their hands 
and shuddered and moaned all the time, they 
were so sure of being drowned. Mrs. Winthrop 
was trying to soothe them when Edward suddenly 
said protestingly: 

“But, Mother, if we are to be taken on a ship 
we won’t have any shipwreck at all and we can’t 
be cast on a desert island.” 

“Oh, hush, dear,” whispered his mother, “don’t 
talk of shipwreck now. Don’t you see how 
nervous these poor ladies are? You will make 
them a great deal worse.” 

The little boy said no more but he was very 
much disappointed to have all his plans fall 
through in this way, and was not at all pleased 
to know that two ships were coming nearer to 
them. He looked so sad and forlorn that his 


143 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
mother felt sorry for him, and to cheer him up 
a little she suggested that he talk to the chickens, 
whom she was sure must be rather frightened. 
“It might make them feel better to have an old 
friend speak to them,” she said. The little boy 
climbed up on the pile of baggage where the 
cages were fastened, but though he tried to speak 
cheerfully, the fowls paid no attention to him as 
they generally did. Indeed, they seemed not to 
see him, but turned their heads about inquiringly 
in every direction as though they were very much 
puzzled and were trying to make out some reason 
for changing everything so suddenly. 

“I believe they are hungry, Mother,” said Ed¬ 
ward, going back to her side. “They won’t look 
at me, but keep turning their heads toward 
Michael as though they wanted him to feed 
them.” 

“Yes, perhaps they are hungry,” said his 
mother. “You might ask Michael for some bread 
to give them.” 

The old sailor was sitting at the end of the boat 
H4 


Drifting 

on a coil of rope. He was teaching Anne and 
several other children who were crowded about 
him to play “cat’s cradle.” They were all very 
much absorbed, and when Edward finally pushed 
his way to this circle, after climbing over piles 
of baggage and squeezing his slim body between 
people crowded close together, he had to speak 
twice before any one listened to him. But when 
Michael at last heard his question he shook his 
head. 

“Them fowls can’t be hungry now,” he said. 
“They had a good breakfast, and they get no 
more till supper-time.” 

“Then what will you feed them?” asked the 
little boy. “Did you bring some corn along?” 

“ ’Deed I didn’t, me lad. There was no time 
to be thinkin’ of chicken feed. We’ll have luck 
if there’s enough for humans to eat.” 

“But can’t you give them some bread crumbs?” 
asked Anne anxiously. 

“Ye’ll have to ask some one higher up for 
that,” said the old man, still shaking his head. 
145 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“But you can’t let the poor things starve, you 
know,” broke in Edward. 

“Ah, don’t ye worry, young man. Before dark 
we’ll be on board of a good ship and yer fine 
American biddies will have plenty to eat.” 

“How do you know that a ship will find us? 
We can’t see any, and of course they can’t see us.” 

“D’ye see yon streak of gray?” said Michael, 
pointing to the horizon. 

“Isn’t that a cloud?” asked the boy. 

“Niver a bit of it. That’s the smoke from a 
steamer cornin’ our way. In a few hours she’ll 
be in sight of us. Then we’ll be picked up and 
be carried safe to land.” 

“But I’m sure the chickens will be hungry be¬ 
fore that time,” said Anne anxiously. “Edward, 
why can’t you give them some of the seeds from 
your bag? We won’t need them now we are not 
going to live on a desert island.” 

“But perhaps we will after all,” began the little 
boy. 

“Oh, Edward, how silly you are!” cried his 
146 


Drifting 

sister impatiently. “You know that was just play 
and I’m tired of it. I think it will be much nicer 
to go to England to visit our cousins.” 

The little boy looked very much hurt for a 
moment at this heartless desertion of his little 
playmate, but he was used to her sudden changes 
and knew she would soon think of some nice, new, 
imaginative play. She always did. So he took 
out of his little knapsack a package of corn 
which had been given him by a sailor which he 
meant to use on his desert island as seed, and 
handed it to Michael, who put it in his pocket 
saying it might come in handy after all at feed¬ 
ing-time, if by chance no ships had reached them. 

Edward now joined the group round the old 
sailor, and was allowed to take his turn at the fas¬ 
cinating game of “cat’s cradle.” 

There were eight children all together under 
eight years of age. They were too young to 
realize what had really happened to them, and 
were having an unusually jolly time with so many 
grown-up people ready and willing to amuse 
147 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
them. But one little girl of four seemed not to 
be very happy. She leaned against the old man, 
putting her hand up to her face and looking very 
forlorn. 

“What’s the matter, little Miss?” he asked 
kindly, stroking her brown head. 

“My toof,” she answered plaintively. 

Michael did not understand and looked mysti¬ 
fied. 

“Alice has a loose tooth and she won’t let any¬ 
body pull it out,” explained the child’s older 
sister. 

“Ah, that’s it, is it?” said Michael. “Just let me 
have a look at that same.” 

“Oh, no, no,” cried the child, covering her face 
with both hands. “You’ll jerk it out and hurt 
me.” 

“No, I won’t touch it, darlin’,” he said sooth¬ 
ingly, taking the child on his knee. 

But she had evidently had experience with 
people who promised beforehand not to touch a 
loose tooth, and had basely broken their word 
148 


Drifting 

when they were able to get their fingers in her 
mouth. She intended never to trust any one 
again. So she obstinately shook her head and 
refused to open her mouth when he urged her to 
let him have only one look at the tooth. 

“Well,” he said at last, “I’ll tell you what I’ll 
do. If ye don’t believe me, I’ll get these strong 
young spalpeens to hold me two hands while ye 
open yer mouth to let me see the bad little beggar 
that’s botherin’ ye so much.” 

He held out his hands and the laughing chil¬ 
dren swarmed over his arms and held them in 
such a way that he could not move them. 

“Now fer it!” he said. “Open yer mouth and 
put yer finger on the tooth. Ye see, I couldn’t 
touch it if I tried, with these strong young giants 
holdin’ me down.” 

The red lips opened quickly and showed a 
small tooth which almost fell out of her mouth 
when she touched it with her finger. 

“I see,” said Michael, smiling. “And I don’t 
wonder ye don’t want anybody’s clumsy fingers in 
149 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
yer little mouth. But I know how ye cud get rid 
of the ugly rascal and not a finger touehin’ it, at 
least not human fingers,” he added in a mysteri¬ 
ous whisper. 

“Oh, is it fairies? Oh, tell us about them!” 
cried the children, releasing his arms and crowd¬ 
ing close to his side. 

“Whist! Not so loud!” said the old man, put¬ 
ting his finger on his lips. “We mustn’t let the 
grown folks hear us, or the little people ud run 
away.” 

“Can they really pull Alice’s tooth and not hurt 
her?” asked the little girl’s sister. 

“Sure! I’ve got one right in my ear would do 
it in a minute if little Miss would be willin’.” 

“I’ll let her. I’ll let the fairy pull my tooth. 
I’m sure she wouldn’t hurt me,” cried the little 
girl, clasping her hands. 

“All right then. Now we must tie a bit of 
thread to the bad tooth so the wee bogie can get 
hold of it.” 

The children stood in a circle with awed ex- 


Drifting 

pressions on their faces while the old man fum¬ 
bled in his pocket for a spool of thread. 

“Bad cess to. it!” he exclaimed at length, as he 
searched first in one pocket and then another. “I 
thought I had me sewin’-kit wid me when we 
came on board. It must be I left it in me other 
coat. And now what will we do?” 

“Can you use this?” asked Anne, bringing from 
her bag a small roll of paper on which was wound 
several yards of strong white thread. 

“Well, did ye ever see the like o’ that!” ex¬ 
claimed the old man. “It’s just the thing we’re 
wantin’. And how did ye come to have it so just 
in the nick o’ time? Did the wee people hand it 
to ye?” 

“Mrs. Norris gave it to me,” said Anne. “She 
thought I might need it on the desert island you 
know.” 

“To be sure,” he chuckled. “But it never 
could be more needed on the desert island than 
it is now.” 

“But you know we’re not going to the desert 
iSi 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
island,” said Anne. “And you can have the 
thread and anything else in my bag that you 
want.” 

“It’s a mighty fine thing that ye did get ready 
for that same. As like as not ye’ll be after savin’ 
all our lives yet wid yer little bags,” he went on, 
breaking off a length of thread which he thought 
would answer his purpose. He then tied the 
thread very gently round the loose tooth, and 
fastened the ends together in a loop which he 
hung over his ear, for the elf to slide down on, 
he explained to the children. 

When all was ready he told the children in a 
whisper to close their eyes. “She won’t come out 
while ye’re lookin’,” he explained. 

The eyes were all shut. Old Michael counted 
one, two, three, and then gave a quick little jerk 
of his head backward. 

“There ye are!” he exclaimed, as he put the 
tiny tooth in the child’s hand. “Did she hurt ye, 
darlin’?” he asked anxiously. “If she did, I’ll 
152 


Drifting 

send her away and never let her come back any 
more.” 

“Oh, no, she didn’t hurt a bit,” said the little 
girl eagerly, as she squeezed her way back to tell 
her mother what the fairy had done for her. 

Old Michael laughed and winked to the older 
children who saw that he had been fooling them. 

“Your ear fairy is just like Santa Claus, isn’t 
she?” said one of the children. “You know there 
isn’t any such person, and yet you think there is.” 

“That’s just about the size of it, my child,” said 
the old sailor. “We don’t know very much but 
we think a whole lot, and the thinkin’ is better 
than the knowin’. Just remember that.” 

There was a good deal of chatting and singing 
in the boats while they waited. Every one felt 
sure their adventure would soon be ended and 
they would have something exciting to tell their 
friends when they were on shore. The sailors on 
lookout reported that they could see two ships 
coming toward them, and the Captain said if 
153 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
they had good luck they would be safe on board 
of one of them within an hour. 

But it was bad luck that soon came to them. 
The wind changed suddenly, the sky became over¬ 
cast, and in fifteen minutes a heavy fog came, and 
clapped a great woolly cap over all the boats, 
hiding everything from sight, and making every 
one feel perfectly helpless. 


154 


CHAPTER XVIII 


DOTTY AS A MASCOT 
HE two women who had been so fright- 



I ened at first began to weep again and ex¬ 
claim that they were lost, and as most of the chil¬ 
dren cried with them there was a good deal of 
noise and confusion on the boats until the Cap¬ 
tain began to speak through a megaphone, and 
then every one kept still to listen to him. 

“Don’t be alarmed, people,” he said. “We are 
in no danger. All we can do is to wait till the 
fog lifts. It may do that any minute, and it may 
last some time. We’ve got to have patience. We 
can’t fight a fog, but we needn’t give in to it.” 

Dotty Jack at this moment seemed to think it 
was time for him to speak too. He had been so 
tired from the excitement of the day that he had 
been taking a little nap after he had found him¬ 
self safe in the lifeboat. The Captain’s mega- 


155 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
phone wakened him and seeing the fog all around 
him, he thought it was the dawn, and began to 
crow gaily, as he did at home in the early morn¬ 
ing. 

The Captain laughed. “There’s the emblem 
of your country speaking to you Americans,” he 
said. “ ‘Never say die’ is what he is calling, so 
everybody must cheer up like ‘Young America.’ ” 

“Oh, Captain, I believe he is our little mascot,” 
cried one of the women who had been weeping. 
“We will be safe as long as we have him.” 

“Yes, yes,” echoed another woman. “We can’t 
drown with him on board.” 

“Hurrah for the mascot!” cried the tall young 
man, waving his hat. 

Everybody cheered and clapped their hands, 
and then the Captain said they must all keep quiet 
so that the sailors could hear his orders about 
managing the boats. And now fog horns were 
heard in the distance, so that they knew that ships 
were within reach of them. Edward began to 
think there was no use in expecting a shipwreck 
156 


Dotty as a Mascot 

any more and soon fell asleep with his head on 
his mother’s shoulder. Anne was already asleep 
with her head in her mother’s lap. 

Most of the older people kept awake during 
that dreary night listening to the tooting horns 
which sounded sometimes near and then far away. 
The Captain told them often not to be alarmed. 
They were still safe. The fog, he said, was sure 
to lift in the morning and then they would soon 
be on board of some friendly ship. So every one 
tried to be patient and cheerful. But a new 
danger now arose which threatened to be more 
serious than anything that had happened to them. 
A gentle wind sprang up which drifted them 
steadily away from the sound of the foghorns in 
spite of all the sailors could do, and by daylight 
they could hear nothing at all. But the Captain 
would not be discouraged or allow any one else 
to be. 

“Never mind,” he said, “there’ll be more ships 
before long, and the fog is beginning to thin. 
We’ll soon be rid of it, and then we’re all right.” 
157 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

It was quite true. The heavy mist melted away 
as quietly as it had come, but instead of the res¬ 
cuing ship they expected to see, there rose right 
before them the high steep cliffs of the Irish 
coast. 

The shipwreck and the fog had come most un¬ 
expectedly, but this was the most startling sur¬ 
prise of all. It seemed to take every one’s breath 
away, for no one spoke for a moment as they 
gazed at those shining walls which towered above 
their heads, almost as though they were seeing 
a miracle. 

Old Michael was the first to find his voice. 

“Bedad, it’s dear ould Ireland!” he cried. 
“We’ve come to yer island, me lad,” he went on, 
turning to Edward, “but divil a bit of a desert 
ye’ll find it.” 

There was a wild shout from the passengers 
when they at last realized that they were within a 
stone’s throw of land, and most of them felt that 
their discomfort and danger were over. They 
began to sing and laugh and joke, until the Cap- 



THERE ROSE RIGHT BEFORE THEM THE HIGH STEEP 
CLIFFS OF THE IRISH COAST 











































































Dotty as a Mascot 

tain made them keep quiet so that the sailors 
could hear his orders. The boats had drifted in 
the night toward the shore and away from the 
friendly ships, which were now entirely out of 
sight, and so far away that the Captain decided 
he would try to land his people at the foot of the 
cliff and not take any more chances of being res¬ 
cued at sea. 

A row of sharp rocks stood up in a line almost 
like a fence several yards from the shore. All the 
officers and sailors saw they must get beyond these 
rocks as soon as possible, for if another fog came 
on they would be in danger of being dashed to 
pieces on the sharp points. There were narrow 
passages between the rocks through which the 
sailors skilfully guided the boats, and they im¬ 
mediately found themselves in a quiet little cove 
at the foot of the cliffs. They were then sepa¬ 
rated from the ocean only by this natural break¬ 
water. 

They were all landed on a narrow sandy 
beach, and the question arose at once among the 
159 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
officers as to how they could reach the land above 
the cliffs. Several sailors were sent in each di¬ 
rection to see if a place along the steep rocks 
could be found where it would be possible to 
climb to the top. But they came back after a 
careful search, to report that no such place could 
be found and that rope ladders, which sailors 
could fasten to points on the rocks, would be the 
only possible way for their escape. Sailors were 
already making the rope ladders, but the Captain 
saw that only strong men could use them. It 
would be dangerous for women and children and 
old people to even try them, and of course they 
were the first ones to be taken care of. He was 
very much worried now, for the tide was coming 
in. In an hour the ground where they stood 
would be covered with water, and if they were 
still there, they would have to get into the 
boats again, and perhaps spend the night there. 
While he was still trying to think of some way 
out of their troubles, the wind changed and im¬ 
mediately a gray fog came stealing along, in a 
160 


Dotty as a Mascot 

few minutes almost hiding everything from sight. 
The people could only very dimly see the boats 
which the Captain told them to enter as quickly 
as possible, adding that it would be necessary for 
them to be perfectly quiet as soon as they were 
seated. His orders were obeyed, and they could 
only hear the gentle lapping of the incoming tide 
on the beach, and the heavier thump of the ocean 
waves on the row of rocks which guarded their 
safe port. 

During the excitement of landing the chickens 
had been almost forgotten by every one except old 
Michael, who placed the cages in a safe place on 
the beach and gave the fowls some food. They 
were so delighted to be on land once more that 
they cackled joyously, and Dotty crowed loud and 
long. He made so much noise that he disturbed 
the officers who were consulting together, and a 
sailor had to put cloths over the cages, which 
made the chickens think night had come and they 
must go to sleep. But when they were placed 
again in the boats, without this covering, they 
161 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
wakened. The gray fog all around made Dotty 
think once more that day was about to break, and 
it was time for him to be heard from. So he 
thrust out his little white chest and lifted up his 
voice in his very best style. The effect of his 
crowing on those tired, discouraged people was 
wonderful. 

“He’ll bring us out safely,” whispered the little 
woman who had named him “The Mascot,” and 
everybody felt more patient and hopeful as the 
young cockerel seemed to say, “Cheer up! Never 
say die! We’ll come out all right!” 

The people were all silent as the Captain had 
requested them to be, but Dotty’s shrill crow was 
allowed to ring out again and again, for the Cap¬ 
tain believed it would give courage and hope to 
them all. This had been going on for perhaps 
five minutes, when all at once they heard a man’s 
voice call from the beach, “Hello, there!” 


CHAPTER XIX 


MR. MALONEY 


T HE Captain told a sailor to throw a cloth 
over Dotty’s cage and then answered, 
“Ship ahoy! Who are you, and how did you get 
there?” 

“Me name’s Pat Maloney, and I came on 
Shanks’ mare,” answered the voice. 

“But how did you know there was any one 
here?” 

“Well, ye seem to be sailin’ about wid yer barn¬ 
yard, and lucky ’tis for ye that ye are. ’Twas the 
crowin’ of yer cock I heard above, and came 
down to see what’s up,” roared the Irishman. 
“But I’m thinkin’ it’s meself should be askin’ who 
ye are and how’d ye get here,” he went on. 

“We’re castaways,” said the Captain. “There 
are one hundred of us, and we have been trying 
163 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
to land on your shore but the fog and the tide 
have driven us back to our boats.” 

“Yer anchored or tied to the cliff, aren’t ye?” 
asked the man anxiously. 

“No, we have no way to anchor and could not 
find anything to tie to,” said the Captain. 

“By the blind powers, man,” cried the Irish¬ 
man in great excitement, “yer not safe a holy 
minute in small boats where ye are. The tide’s 
cornin’ in fast. It’ll be after coverin’ them low 
rocks behind ye, and yer likely to be dashed to 
pieces on them.” 

“Can you help us out, my man?” asked the 
Captain very quietly. 

“That I can,” replied the man heartily, “but 
ye’ll have to keep yer wits about ye and move 
fast.” 

Some of the women and children were crying 
and screaming now, but the Captain told them 
sternly to be quiet, as all their lives might depend 
on his hearing what was said by the man on 
shore. 


164 


Mr. Maloney 

When they were still the Captain said, “Tell us 
what to do, Mr. Maloney.” 

“Come in as quick as ye can,” said the man. 
“The water is coverin’ the beach entirely, but the 
men can wade through it yet and they can carry 
the women and children and I’ll be showin’ ye 
the way out o’ this.” 

There was indeed no time to lose. When the 
boats reached the cliffs the water was ankle deep 
over the sand where the people had landed two 
hours before. The sailors carried the children 
and old women in their arms and on their backs, 
while the men waded behind them, and all cling¬ 
ing together, they hurried after their guide, leav¬ 
ing the boats and all the provisions and other 
things behind. 

In exploring the place the sailors had noticed 
a long fissure or crotch in the cliff, perhaps a foot 
wide in places. They had not thought of exam¬ 
ining it, supposing from its appearance that it led 
only a short distance into the solid rock, and 
would therefore be of no use to them. But the 
165 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
Irishman took them straight to this crevice, and 
showed them where he had rolled a large stone 
away from a hole in it, near the ground, making 
a sort of doorway large enough for a man to 
squeeze through. The water was by this time 
halfway up the sides of this doorway, but their 
guide told them they would have to creep through 
on all fours. There was no other way to safety. 
He gave the first sailor who entered a box of 
matches which he placed inside his cap to keep 
dry. The sailor was told to light a lantern he 
would find in a niche a few feet inside the open¬ 
ing, and then to lead the way up a stairway he 
would find close at hand. The women and chil¬ 
dren were passed through the doorway as fast as 
possible, most of them managing to keep their 
mouths above water, though their bodies and 
clothing were completely wet. It was a hard ex¬ 
perience for old and delicate women and young 
children, but no one complained, even the little 
ones seeming to understand that this was their 
only hope. The men quickly followed, pushing 
166 


Mr . Maloney 

each other through roughly, for when their turn 
came the hole was almost out of sight under the 
water and they saw there was no time to lose. 

Old Michael and another sailor had brought the 
chickens from the boats, as the Captain said they 
must be saved if possible. By the time that all the 
passengers and the last sailor had gone through 
the hole the Captain and Mr. Maloney were left 
standing in water up to their waists, each holding 
aloft a cage of frightened and cackling fowls. 
The hole was filled with water now, and the 
rushing tide almost carried the men off their 
feet. 

“Why don’t you go, Maloney,” cried the Cap¬ 
tain impatiently. 

“After you, Captain,” said the Irishman po¬ 
litely. 

“What nonsense,” shouted the angry Captain. 
“Don’t you know I’m the last one to leave the 
ship? In with you, man.” 

“Bedad, yer not my Captain, I’ll tell ye that. 
Yer on the land in good ould Ireland and on that 
167 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
same I’m as good a man as you,” shouted Mr. 
Maloney, now as angry as the Captain. 

“You are a better man than I,” said the latter 
quietly. “I beg your pardon.” 

“All right. Then duck for the hole as quick 
as ye can,” said Maloney, good-natured again. 
“When we get on dry land we’ll do the necessary 
palaverin’.” 

They were both good divers, and were soon 
through the hole, still clinging to the cages. When 
on the other side they were helped by a sailor to 
their feet and started up a dark stairway. This 
was like a big wellhole with rough irregular 
steps going round the sides which had been hewn 
in the solid rock. The whole company of breath¬ 
less, bedraggled creatures were stumbling up¬ 
ward on this dark stairway, when one tired, half¬ 
dead woman asked faintly: 

“How far must we go like this?” 

“Well, ma’am,” said Mr. Maloney, who had 
heard her question, “it’s like goin’ through ten 
big houses piled on top of each other.” 

168 


Mr. Maloney 

“Oh, we’ll never get out of this dreadful place,” 
she sighed. 

“Yes, we will, ma’am. Keep up good heart,” 
said the kind man cheerily. “We’ll all be on 
good Irish sod now pretty soon, and a lot better 
that same than rockin’ on the blitherin’ water in 
them little eggshell boats.” 

“Of course,” she said, “and we’re very grateful 
to you for saving us.” 

“Ye may thank yer little crowin’ cock, ma’am, 
and not me. But for him there’s no tellin’ what 
would have become of ye.” 

“Yes, isn’t he wonderful 1” she said. “He’s our 
little mascot. He won’t let us drown.” 

Just then they heard a shout from above. The 
first sailor had reached the top of the stairway, 
and presently they were all lying or sitting on the 
brown grass, cold, wet, and exhausted, but very 
joyful and happy to be safe. The Captain and 
Mr. Maloney shook hands and begged each 
other’s pardon for being rude in their moment of 
excitement. 


169 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

The poor chickens seemed to be almost 
drowned, and huddled together in their cages, 
too miserable to make any sound. They were 
taken to the little village not far away, where 
they were placed in a warm room and food given 
them. 

All the shipwrecked travelers were tenderly 
cared for, too, by the kind Irish people in their 
homes. They were given food and dry clothing, 
and the delicate ones were put into warm beds and 
attended by the village doctor. 

The children and the fowls were all so tired 
from fright and excitement that they went to 
sleep as soon as they were fed and never knew 
when they were carried to the train a mile away 
which took all the castaways to the city of Dublin. 
But they were not allowed to sleep many hours. 
The story of the shipwreck and the part the twins 
and chickens had taken in the rescue had been 
telegraphed from the little village where they 
landed to London, and to New York, and to all 
the great cities of the world. 

170 


Mr. Maloney 

The Phebeville and Stellatown fowls heard of 
the wonderful adventures of their young folks by 
hearing Miss Phebe and Mrs. Stella talk about 
them. They even knew a picture of a young 
rooster crowing, supposed to be Dotty Jack, had 
appeared in a New York paper along with an 
account of the shipwreck. 

Mrs. Buff Rock said she was not surprised. 
She always knew Dotty was an uncommon fellow 
and would distinguish himself in some way, and 
she was glad he had been able to do so much 
good, and of course all the chickens in both yards 
gossiped about nothing but the shipwreck for 
many days. 

Long before the travelers reached Dublin news¬ 
paper reporters were waiting at the railroad sta¬ 
tions which their train passed, with cameras and 
sharpened pencils to take the photographs of the 
principal actors in the rescue, and to write the 
details of their adventures. 

The Captain, old Michael, the twins, and the 
four chickens were photographed by a dozen 
171 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
cameras, in groups and singly, and the Captain 
and passengers were interviewed by many re¬ 
porters. 

The twins did not understand what all this 
meant, and were rather sleepy and cross when 
they were questioned, and of course gave very 
little information. 

When the train reached London there was 
greater noise and confusion than ever. There 
were more cameras and more reporters and so 
many questions asked and so much talk that Mrs. 
Winthrop was glad when her friends met her at 
the station and she and her children were whirled 
away in an automobile. 

The Captain and other officers slipped away 
from the reporters as soon as possible and went 
to their homes. The passengers also scattered in 
all directions and the stewards and sailors were 
soon gone to their relatives and friends. 

Before the company separated, however, they 
wished to show in some substantial manner to 
Mr. Maloney their appreciation of what he had 
172 


Mr. Maloney 

done for them. The tall young man, who since 
the shipwreck had been a sort of spokesman or 
leader, proposed that they should give the Irish¬ 
man a thousand dollars. All the passengers 
heartily agreed to this, and the money was quickly 
collected on the train before they reached Lon¬ 
don. At Mrs. Winthrop’s suggestion, another 
hundred dollars was also raised to be sent to the 
priest of the little village where they had been so 
kindly cared for, the sum to be used to buy gifts 
for the children and old people of the parish. 

The Captain was asked to forward both con¬ 
tributions, which he gladly promised to do, and 
as soon as he reached the city he sent the money, 
with a warm letter, and also his own valuable 
watch, the latter a special gift of his own to Mr. 
Maloney. 


173 


CHAPTER XX 


THE NEW HOME 

HE chickens were left in the hands of 



strangers, but they did not mind this, for 
they were too tired and worn out with all the 
changes and dangers and excitements they had 
passed through to care very much what happened 
to them. Silky slept most of the time after they 
left Ireland, and Dotty was too dull even to crow, 
while Rhody and Billy did not care at all for the 
new sights and sounds around them. 

But chickens, like children, soon get rested, and 
by the time they reached their new home they 
were all wide awake and quite ready to be inter¬ 
ested in everything. 

They found themselves in a pretty little yard, 
much finer than the ones at home. There was a 
white fence around it and several gaily painted 
houses on one side for them to sleep in at night 


174 


The New Home 

and to stay in when it rained. Between the 
boards of the fence they had glimpses of a row 
of clean, handsome stables, which seemed to be 
filled with fine, well-groomed horses which were 
being cared for by a number of stable boys in 
uniform. 

The strangers soon saw there were few fowls 
besides themselves, not nearly so many as they 
were used to at home, and most of these were 
queer-looking creatures, quite unlike anything 
they had ever seen before. 

Presently they heard a familiar cackling in one 
of the little houses, and soon a fat yellow hen 
with short legs came out of the door. She looked 
so much like Mrs. Yellow Crop at home that 
Rhody thought at first it was she and started to 
run towards her, but in a second she saw her mis¬ 
take and stood still. The old hen walked up to 
the newcomers and said in a friendly tone: 

“I’m Mrs. Waddles, and I suppose you are our 
American cousins.” 

“Yes,” said Rhody who, as usual, spoke for all 
175 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
of them. “We belong to Prince Johnnie and we 
have come to England to live.” 

“We have heard of you, and we are glad to see 
you,” said Mrs. Waddles cordially. “You must 
make yourselves at home. We’re pretty quiet 
people here. I hope you won’t get homesick.” 

“Oh, I’m sure we can’t be homesick in this 
pretty place,” returned Rhody pleasantly. 

“Come and take a drink from our little brook,” 
said the old hen politely. “You must be thirsty 
after your long journey.” 

They walked by her side as she led them to the 
clear stream, and Dotty said: 

“Have you any young folks here, Mrs. Wad¬ 
dles?” 

“Oh, yes,” she said. “Quite a number of them. 
I have two grandsons about your age. You must 
be the one they call ‘Young America.’ ” 

“Yes, that’s what they have named me,” he an¬ 
swered, beginning to strut about. “Should you 
like to hear me crow?” 

“Yes, very much,” she said. 

176 


The New Home 

The breast of the little cockerel was already- 
swelling, and at once he burst into such a loud 
crow that his English hostess was very much 
startled, and the fowls in the yard stared at him 
almost frightened, and all the stable boys came 
running to the fence to see who was making such 
a din. 

“For mercy’s sake, Dotty, do stop your noise. 
You make us all ashamed of you!” said Rhody 
crossly. 

“Oh, let him crow,” said Mrs. Waddles good- 
naturedly. “He really has a powerful voice, and 
we shall like to hear him. He will stir us up and 
make us more lively. That is what we need.” 

Dotty Jack saw the two grandsons of Mrs. 
Waddles near one of the little houses and without 
waiting for an introduction ran over to them and 
joined at once in their play. 

“What a very smart young fellow he is!” re¬ 
marked Mrs. Waddles, watching him. “He is 
your brother, isn’t he?” 

“Oh, no!” cried Rhody emphatically. “ 

177 


He is 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
a stray incubator chicken. No one knows who 
his parents are.” 

“Indeed! That is interesting,” said the old 
hen. “I suspect he has gentle blood. He has the 
marks of a thoroughbred.” 

“Well, if thoroughbreds are noisy and rude he 
is one,” said Rhody tartly. 

“He is good-natured and much more clever than 
we are,” said Billy Whack stoutly. “I like him 
very much and so does Silky.” 

“Oh, I like him, too!” Rhody hastened to say. 
“And if he were not so conceited and so impudent 
we would be proud of him. But he always speaks 
before he is spoken to, and strangers must think 
we are all alike and have no manners.” 

“How did you know he was named ‘Young 
America,’ Mrs. Waddles?” asked Silky. 

“We have a great deal of news from the hos¬ 
tlers,” said the old hen. “Yesterday they had a 
newspaper with the picture of a young cockerel 
crowing, and one of the men read aloud to the 
others that this was a picture of a young Ameri- 
i 7 8 


The New Home 

can who had been given to our Prince Johnnie, 
and that his loud crowing in a storm had been the 
means of saving the lives of a great many people 
who were shipwrecked.” 

This was the first time the American chickens 
realized the part Dotty had played in the rescue, 
and they were much astonished. 

There had been so much confusion and excite¬ 
ment ever since they reached the Irish coast that 
they had not been able to understand what had 
really happened. They asked the old hen many 
questions about the shipwreck as told in the news¬ 
paper, and she seemed glad to tell them all she 
could remember. How they were obliged to get 
into the little boats when the tide came in and 
were in danger of being dashed on the rocks in 
the fog, and how the Irishman had heard Dotty 
crowing and had then come to them and had 
shown them how to climb up to safety. 

Billy Whack ran to tell his chum the wonder¬ 
ful story, and Rhody said: “Well, you know we 
really are proud of Dotty and I suppose he saved 
179 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
all our lives, but it is a great pity he is not more 
modest. He will crack his windpipe crowing, 
now that he knows what a great thing he has 
done and how famous he is. There will be no 
living with him, he will be so vain.” 

“He is very handsome, I think,” said a quiet 
little pullet who had joined the group. 

“Yes, isn’t he!” echoed Silky, who was very 
fond of her little adopted brother. “When he 
stands in the sunlight you can hardly look at him, 
his comb is so red and his white feathers so 
shining.” 

By this time a number of hens and pullets and 
one fat old rooster had come up to speak to the 
newcomers, and soon they were all chatting to¬ 
gether as though they had always been acquainted. 

Mrs. Waddles called the old rooster “Mr. 
High Crest,” but the saucy young cockerels 
named him “old fatty” behind his back. He was 
rather gruff and surly and had little to say, 
although he was very polite and kind to the 
180 




THE ENGLISH FOWLS WERE ESPECIALLY PROUD OF A 
LITTLE JAPANESE ROOSTER 











The New Home 

American strangers. He and Mrs. Waddles took 
them around the place and showed them the in¬ 
side of each little house and introduced them to 
the queer foreign fowls, which had been sent to 
Prince Johnnie from the ends of the earth. The 
English fowls were especially proud of a little 
Japanese rooster whose tail feathers were six 
feet long. The poor little captive bird had to 
stand in a small cage with his face to the wall, 
while his tail of four bright feathers lay stretched 
in a sort of groove made of wood. The Ameri¬ 
cans had never seen anything like this, and won¬ 
dered and admired quite enough to satisfy their 
English cousins. 

But Dotty remarked after a while, “I would 
think that fellow would be tired of standing there 
all day. I’d think he’d get cramps in his legs.” 

“Oh, they take him out for exercise,” said Mrs. 
Waddles. 

“Then doesn’t some one step on that long tail?” 
asked Rhody. 

181 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
“No, that precious tail is wound up in a coil 
and tied in a paper bag when he goes out to 
walk,” explained Mr. High Crest. 

“How queer he must look then,” remarked 
Billy, “more bag than rooster.” 

“Yes, he certainly doesn’t look very pretty 
then, to be sure,” said Mrs. Waddles. 

“I’d rather be free than have a long tail, 
wouldn’t you?” Rhody whispered to Silky as they 
walked away. 


CHAPTER XXI 


PRINCE JOHNNIE AND THE TWINS 

I N a few days the four friends were settled in 
their new home and felt perfectly contented 
and happy. They were well fed, their houses 
were kept clean, and there was very little bicker¬ 
ing or quarreling to disturb them. Silky fre¬ 
quently thought of her old home, and often wished 
she could see her mother, but she soon became 
very fond of old Mrs. Waddles and liked most 
of the young fowls very much. Their quiet 
orderly English ways just suited her, and as she 
was so pretty and dainty and modest, she soon 
became a great pet in the yard. Billy and Rhody 
were also admired and liked for their beauty and 
liveliness, but it was Dotty Jack who was the 
chief favorite of every one. 

He was always lively and good-natured and 
became the leader in all the games and sports of 

183 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
the younger fowls. He taught the English cock¬ 
erels the American crow as well as several games 
which kept them racing about among the bushes 
and in and out of the hen houses until they were 
out of breath and wild with excitement. 

Rhody was still ashamed of his habit of brag¬ 
ging and scolded him for it a good deal. But 
his English cousins seemed to expect and like this 
quality and were never tired of hearing him tell 
the story of the shipwreck and how he had saved 
the lives of so many people by his crowing. 

One day Silky asked Mrs. Waddles when they 
would see Prince Johnnie. 

“Very soon now, I think,” she answered. “You 
know he is away at a boys’ school that they call 
Eton. He is sometimes at home for holidays and 
then he generally comes to see us. Of course he 
will be sure to visit us now that you are here.” 

“Does he wear a crown and a long red robe?” 
asked the little American, anxious to have this 
important question settled. 

“Oh, no,” said Mrs. Waddles. “Or at least not 
184 


Prince Johnnie and the Twins 
when we see him. He looks like any other nice 
school boy, but hark!” she exclaimed excitedly. 
“I believe he is coming now. I can hear his 
voice.” 

She waddled off as fast as she could go to 
spread the news, and Silky, looking through the 
bars of the fence, saw three children coming 
toward her. The tallest boy she thought must 
be the Prince. The other two she recognized at 
once as the Winthrop twins. 

The children were talking together in a lively 
way when they entered the yard, and Silky 
thought they must have known each other a long 
time, when in fact they had only just met. The 
King had invited Mrs. Winthrop and her children 
to his palace so that he and the Queen might see 
and thank the wonderful twins who had saved 
the fowls from drowning, and so had been the 
means of rescuing a great many people from ship¬ 
wreck. The Prince was at home for a holiday 
and went with his uncle to the palace to meet 
Edward and Anne and afterward took them for 

185 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
a visit to his poultry yard. He was nine years old 
and tall for his age. He had light hair and blue 
eyes and a wide mouth, which was usually 
stretched in a smile, and as his eyes were bright 
and twinkling, and he talked in an easy laughing 
way, the American chickens thought it was no 
wonder that he was a great favorite with every¬ 
body. They liked him very much and Rhody 
thought he was very much like their Bobby of 
Stellatown. 

Dotty Jack began to crow, and the children 
gathered round him laughing. 

“Isn’t he jolly?” said the Prince. “I suppose 
he crowed like that on the water when you were 
in the small boats.” 

“Yes,” said Anne, “he is always crowing, and 
that is why the Captain named him ‘Young 
America.’ ” 

“He is a beauty and looks like a thorough¬ 
bred,” said the Prince. “It was most kind of the 
little American girl to send him to me.” 

Anne reminded him that there were three other 
186 


Prince Johnnie and the Twins 
beauties in the gift from her country. The Prince 
admired them all, but was of course chiefly in¬ 
terested in the famous “Young America.” 

“My friends can hardly wait to see him,” he 
remarked. 

“Shall you bring them all here, the King and 
the Queen and your uncle?” asked Edward. 

“No, he’s going'to the Bazar,” said the Prince, 
“and every one can see him there.” 

“What bazar?” asked Anne. 

“Some ladies are holding one to raise money 
for a hospital,” said Prince Johnnie. “They are 
going to have this chap for a few days. They 
expect a jolly big crowd to see him.” 

“That will be fine,” said Anne. “But won’t he 
be lonesome there without his little mates?” 

Johnnie laughed. “He won’t mind being alone 
a few days,” he said. “He’ll get a great deal of 
admiration and petting, and he’ll like that. 
Everybody knows about him, and wants to see 
him.” 

“How long will he be there?” asked Edward. 
187 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 

“Two or three days, I think, and when he 
comes back I think you ought to have him, for 
you saved his life.” 

“Oh, we don’t want chickens any more,” cried 
Anne. “We were going to have them on a desert 
island, but we’ve given up that play. We’ve got 
a much nicer one now.” 

“What is it?” asked the English boy, looking 
much interested. 

“It’s a menagerie,” replied Edward. “My 
uncle gave us a yard almost as big as this one, 
and my cousins have a whole lot of things in it.” 

“We have some white mice and a cow with a 
crumpled horn and two guinea pigs,” said Anne. 

“Yes, and a little bear,” added Edward, “and 
uncle is going to get us a donkey.” 

“I’ll give you a young ostrich for your me¬ 
nagerie if you want it,” said the English boy. 

“Of course we want it,” returned the little girl, 
beaming. “Is it a real live ostrich like the ones 
at the zoo?” 

“Yes, of course it is. I have a whole pen full 

188 


Prince Johnnie and the Twins 
of them. They were sent from Africa by my 
uncle.” 

“Oh, let us see them!” cried Anne. “Are they 
near here?” 

“Yes,” he said, “I’ll show them to you, and per¬ 
haps you’d like to see some other animals. I have 
an Australian kangaroo and a chimpanzee.” 

The children rushed away, and the chickens 
were left alone to discuss what they had heard. 

Dotty was, of course, very much puffed up, and 
could talk or think of nothing but the honor he 
was to receive at the Bazar. Billy Whack was 
as much delighted as his friend, for he was sure 
nothing was too good or too fine for the brilliant 
Dotty. 

“I’m glad the twins didn’t want us,” said Silky, 
as she ate her dinner by the side of Mrs. Wad¬ 
dles. “I like it here very much, and I think our 
new master is lovely.” 

“That’s what we all think,” said the old hen 
heartily. “I’m glad you have the taste and sense 
to appreciate him.” 


189 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
“Well,” said Rhody, “Dotty couldn’t be any 
more spoiled and conceited than he is now, so I’m 
glad he’s going where his crowing and his brag¬ 
ging will be of some use to somebody.” 


190 


CHAPTER XXII 


THE BAZAR 



I HAT afternoon a large beautiful gilded 


1 cage was brought in by a groom and 
Dotty was placed inside to be carried to the 
Bazar. He was very much excited when he said 
good-by, but promised to remember everything of 
interest that he saw to tell his friends when he 
got back. 

He found the Bazar a very wonderful place. 
There were many large rooms opening into each 
other, all handsomely decorated with flags and 
draperies and many potted plants and vines. In 
every room were gay little booths where lovely 
women and girls in pretty dresses sold toys and 
fancy articles to the crowds of people who filled 
the place. 

His cage was placed in an alcove over which 
was draped a bright American flag, and a placard 


191 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
just above the cage read, "Young America, the 
bird who saved the lives of a shipload of people.” 

Two young ladies stood at the entrance of the 
alcove to take the money of those who wished to 
see the famous American, for an extra shilling 
was charged for this privilege. But this seemed 
to make no difference with the crowds that visited 
the alcove. There was a stream of people passing 
the cage at all hours of the day and evening. 
They seemed to be of all sorts and conditions, 
poor and rich, great and humble, for everybody 
apparently had read the papers describing the 
shipwreck and were anxious to see the young 
feathered hero. In fact, he was the most popular 
attraction at the Bazar. His presence there had 
been widely advertised, and many came for the 
express purpose of seeing him. 

The ladies who had the Fair in charge were 
very much pleased and called him a great money¬ 
maker for them during the three days he was 
there. But although the King and Queen and 
many royal and distinguished people came to see 
192 


The Bazar 


him, and he heard himself constantly praised and 
admired for his beauty and liveliness, he began 
to grow a little homesick and tired of the noise 
and bustle of so many people. He wanted to be 
at home again where he could have Billy and 
Silky to listen to his chatter and admire his wit 
and brightness. He even thought he would rather 
like to hear Rhody scold him again. Human 
beings were really very tiresome when they did 
nothing but stare and laugh and make silly re¬ 
marks about one. An hour of good romping 
play at home was worth a whole day of this stupid 
prison life. Kings and queens and princes and 
pretty girls and sweet children all bored him now, 
though at first he had admired them very much. 
He forgot his homesickness for a little while, 
however, when he had a visit from his little 
master, who brought with him a dozen Eton 
school boys about his own age. They were so 
jolly and lively they quite cheered up the little 
lonesome cockerel. He capered about his cage 
and gave several of his famous crows, which de- 
193 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
lighted them very much. They were so merry 
and full of fun they reminded Dotty of Charley 
and Bobbie, although the tall hats and little round 
jackets of the Etonians would have looked very 
queer on the American boys. 

But the school boys were soon gone, and Dotty 
felt more lonely and bored than ever. 

He was very much alarmed one day when he 
heard one man say to another that a lot of money 
could be made by taking the famous young cock¬ 
erel on a tour through England. Everybody had 
heard of him and would gladly pay a shilling to 
see him. He said he would write to Prince 
Johnnie and offer him half the money that would 
be made at the exhibitions. 

The thought of such a long banishment from 
his friends made Dotty really ill. He hung his 
head and refused to eat his food. His eyes grew 
dim, and he crouched in the corner of his cage, 
looking more dead than alive. The ladies of the 
Bazar were frightened and called a chicken doc¬ 
tor, who examined Dotty and decided that he was 
194 


The Bazar 


ill from confinement and would be all right again 
as soon as he could have fresh air and freedom 
Fortunately the Bazar closed the next day, and 
a very happy little white cockerel went back to 
his friends and his new home, with a polite note 
from the ladies of the Bazar thanking Prince 
Johnnie for loaning him and saying he had made 
a good deal of money for them. 

There was a warm welcome for Dotty Jack 
when he was put into the poultry yard. The 
fowls had all missed him very much and were 
glad to see him and hear his gay crows and join 
with him in his lively plays. They were never 
tired of hearing of his adventure, and though he 
was very vain and bragged a good deal, they did 
not mind. In fact, they seemed to like and expect 
it, and even Rhody forgot to scold him. 

He was so happy to be at home again that he 
could hardly contain himself, and he crowed and 
capered about like a crazy chicken. He never 
wanted to leave that pleasant home again, and 
fortunately for him he never did, for Prince 
I9S 


Silky Buff and Dotty Jack 
Johnnie would not hear of such a thing as send¬ 
ing him on a strolling tour through the country. 

He lived to be an old fellow and grew rather 
stiff in his joints, so that he could not dance or 
run, but he was always lively and never grew 
tired of telling the young ones the story of the 
voyage and the shipwreck, and they were never 
tired of listening to him. 

Billy loved and admired him, and the two old 
chums were always together. 

In time Rhody and Silky became fat little 
grandmothers, and though they never forgot their 
American friends, they were always proud to be 
called “Prince Johnnie’s chickens.” 


THE END 


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